부산대학교 도서관

Background and aims Radiotherapy is frequently used for cancer treatment, but it may be associated with several complications. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the role of l-glutamine and/or glycine supplementation on the colonic wall in rats submitted to abdominal radiation. Materials and methods Sixty adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups: I--healthy, II (control)--irradiated rats without amino acid supplementation, III--irradiated rats with glycine supplementation, IV--irradiated rats with l-glutamine supplementation, V--irradiated rats with glycine supplementation 7 days before irradiation and with l-glutamine supplementation 7 days after irradiation, and VI--irradiated rats with l-glutamine supplementation 7 days before irradiation and with glycine supplementation 7 days after irradiation. Abdominal irradiation was employed with a dose of 1,000 cGy on the eighth day of the experiment. All animals underwent laparotomy on the 15th day for resection of a colonic segment for stereologic analysis. Parametric and nonparametric tests were used for statistical analysis, with the level of significance set at pa$?0.05. Results Control animals (group II) presented a significantly smaller total volume of colonic wall when compared to animals of groups I, III, IV, V, and VI. There was a significant increase in mucosal layer volume in the animals of group IV compared to animals of groups I, II, and III. Conclusions Our findings suggest that l-glutamine and/or glycine supplementation is beneficial for the repair of the colonic wall of rats, but l-glutamine, with its trophic effects on the colonic mucosa, seems to exhibit better results.