Abstracts
1999 Digestive Disease Week

# 3485 INTERLEUKIN-11: A CYTOKINE OR AN INTESTINAL GROWTH FACTOR?
K Alavi, R Prasad, K Lundgren, M Z Schwartz, Alfred I. duPont Hosp for Children, Wilmington, DE

Our laboratory has been interested in studying the effects of certain growth factors on small intestine function. This study was designed to examine the effect of systemic administration of Interleukin-11(IL-11), a 19kD cytokine expressed in multiple tissues, on mucosal function and mass in the normal small intestine and intestine following massive small bowel resection (MSBR). Methods: Twenty young adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. Ten rats underwent an 80% small bowel resection and end-to-end jejunoileal anastomosis. Seven days following resection, all rats had placement of a jugular venous catheter connected to a subcutaneously placed osmotic minipump. The rats were divided into 4 groups based on the contents of the osmotic minipump: Group 1 (n=5), normal rat receiving 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA); Group 2 (n=5), normal rat receiving IL-11 at 750mg/kg/day; Group 3 (n=5), short bowel rat receiving 0.1% BSA; and Group 4 (n=5), short bowel rat receiving IL-11 at 750mg/kg/day. Following a 14-day infusion period, [14C] galactose and [14C] glycine absorption were measured using a closed-recirculation technique. Mucosal DNA and protein content were also determined for each group. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and expressed as mean±SEM. Results: Conclusions: This study demonstrates that IL-11 as a cytokine also acts as a growth factor by enhancing mucosal absorptive function (carbohydrate, 35% increase) and mass (76% increase) in the normal intestine and intestine following MSBR (increase in carbohydrate, 73%; amino acid, 112%; and DNA content, 97%). IL-11 may prove to have an important role clinically in patients with inadequate intestinal function. Acknowledgement: Interleukin-11 was provided by the Genetics Institute, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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