The protective effect of epidermal growth factor on intestinal barrier in rats with acute pancreatitis

Objective To evaluate the protective effect of epidermal growth factor(EGF) on intestinal barrier in rats with acute pancreatitis(AP). Methods Thirty two male SD rats after AP models induced were randomly divided into two groups: (1) control group( n =16) treated with total parenteral nutrition(TPN) only. (2) treatment group( n =16) with TPN and EGF(hppodermatic injection). Rats were sacrificed on day 1 and day 5 after AP induced. Results In treatment group, plasma fluorescein isothiocyanate dextranoncentration was significantly lower than that in control group( P 0.01); mucosal wet weight, villus highness and area in jejunum were significantly higher than that in control group( P 0.01); activities of sucrase and maltase in jejunal mucosa were significantly higher than that in control group( P 0.05, P 0.01), whereas myeloperoxidase acitivity was significantly lower than that in control group( P 0.01). Conclusions EGF may have pretective effect on intestinal barrier in rats with AP under TPN treatment.