The present study investigated the effect of parenteral glutamine (Gln) supplementation on cellular adhesion molecule expression and release of chemokines responsible for inflammatory cell recruitment in rats undergoing a total gastrectomy. Normal rats with internal jugular catheters were assigned to one control group and two experimental groups and received total parenteral nutrition (TPN). A total gastrectomy was performed in the experimental groups, whereas the control group received a sham operation (Sham). The TPN solutions were isonitrogenous and identical in nutrient composition except that the Sham group and one of the experimental group received conventional (Conv) TPN solution, whereas the other experimental group received 25 % of the amino acid nitrogen as Gln. Half of the rats in each group were killed 1 or 3 d after surgery or the Sham to examine their immune response. The results showed that the surgery produced higher polymorphonuclear leucocyte CD11b/CD18 expressions, and Gln supplementation lowered CD11b/CD18 expressions compared with the Conv group post-operatively. The levels of monocyte chemotactic protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-2 in peritoneal lavage fluid were higher in the Gln group than those in the Conv group 1 d post-operatively; these chemotactic proteins had returned to the levels comparable with those in the Sham group on post-operative day 3. These results suggest that Gln supplementation attenuated polymorphonuclear leucocyte integrin expression. In addition, Gln-enriched parenteral nutrition induced an earlier more intensive and rapid immune response to injury than the Conv parenteral nutrition after a total gastrectomy.

This study investigated the effects of fish oil (FO) diet on plasma intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) levels and leucocyte integrin expression in polymicrobial sepsis. Mice were randomly assigned to a control group and an FO group. The control group was fed a medium-fat diet containing soyabean oil, whereas in the FO group, 70 % of the soyabean oil was replaced by FO for 3 weeks. After that, sepsis was induced by caecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in the experimental groups and mice were killed at 0, 6, 12 and 24 h, respectively, after CLP. Results showed that compared with the control group, plasma ICAM-1 levels were higher in the FO group 6 h after CLP. Intra-lymphocyte interferon-γ expression in the FO group was lower, whereas IL-4 expression was higher than in the control group 12 and 24 h after CLP. The expression of leucocyte integrin was significantly higher in the FO group 12 and 24 h after CLP. The FO group had higher IL-6 levels at 12 h in the lungs, at 6 and 12 h in the kidneys, and at 6, 12 and 24 h in the intestines after CLP. The survival rate did not differ between the two groups after CLP. The present findings suggest that pretreatment with an FO diet enhances adhesion molecule and inflammatory cytokine expressions during sepsis, which might aggravate the inflammatory reaction and increase neutrophil infiltration into tissues. In addition, FO diet promotes the Th2-type response and suppresses cellular immune response in polymicrobial sepsis.