Effects of penehyclidine hydrochloride on rat intestinal barrier function during cardiopulmonary bypass

AIM：To test the ability of penehyclidine hydrochloride （PHC） to attenuate intestinal injury in a rat cardiopulmonary bypass （CPB） model.METHODS：Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups （eight each）：sham-operated control;sham-operated low-dose PHC control （0.6 mg/kg）;sham-operated high-dose PHC control （2.0 mg/kg）;CPB vehicle control;CPB low-dose PHC （0.6 mg/kg）;and CPB high-dose PHC （2.0 mg/kg）.Blood samples were collected from the femoral artery 2 h after CPB for determination of plasma diamine oxidase （DAO）,D-lactate and endotoxin levels.Spleen,liver,mesenteric lymph nodes and lung were removed for biochemical analyses.Intestinal tissue ultrastructure was examined by electron microscopy.RESULTS：In the sham-operated groups,high-and low-dose-PHC had no significant impact on the levels of DAO,D-lactate and endotoxin,or the incidence of intestinal bacterial translocation （BT）.Serum levels of DAO,D-lactate,endotoxin and the incidence of intestinal BT were significantly increased in the surgical groups,compared with the sham-operated groups （0.543 ± 0.061,5.697 ± 0.272,14.75 ± 2.46,and 0/40 vs 1.038 ± 0.252,9.377 ± 0.769,60.37 ± 5.63,and 30/40,respectively,all P 〈 0.05）.PHC alleviated the biochemical and histopathological changes in a dosedependent manner.Serum levels of DAO,D-lactate,and endotoxin and the incidence of intestinal BT in the high-dose PHC group were significantly lower than in the low-dose PHC group （0.637 ± 0.064,6.972 ± 0.349,29.64 ± 5.49,and 14/40 vs 0.998 ± 0.062,7.835 ± 0.330,38.56 ± 4.28,and 6/40,respectively,all P 〈 0.05）.CONCLUSION：PHC protects the structure and function of the intestinal mucosa from injury after CPB in rats.