HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/6/901    most recent expphysiol.2005.031583v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Deloyer, P. Articles by Dandrifosse, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Deloyer, P. Articles by Dandrifosse, G. Related Collections GI & Epithelial

¹ University of Liege, Department Biochemistry and General Physiology, Immunology Center, Institute of Chemistry B6c, B-4000 Liege (Sart-Tilman), Belgium

Spermine ingestion induces the precocious maturation of the small intestine in suckling rats. Previous observations suggest that spermine-induced intestinal maturation is a two-step phenomenon. The first step is the elimination of immature enterocytes (4–10 h post spermine ingestion) and the second step is the replacement of previous immature cells by adult-type enterocytes (2–3 days post initial spermine administration). The spermine-induced maturation is reversible when spermine administration is stopped. This work was undertaken in order to check whether the extension of polyamine administration (for 3–7 days) after the appearance of spermine-induced maturation can retain the mature state of the small intestine. Our results indicate that extension of spermine administration does not prevent some parameters (sucrase and maltase specific activities) reverting to a typical ‘immature’ value while others remain at a typical ‘mature’ level (mucosal weight and lactase specific activity). Our results show that there are at least two different mechanisms in required for the control of spermine-induced maturation of the small intestine.

(Received 14 July 2005; accepted after revision 31 August 2005; first published online 5 September 2005)
Corresponding author G. Dandrifosse: Department of Biochemistry and General Physiology, Institute of Chemistry B6c, B-4000 Liege (Sart-Tilman), Belgium. Email: g.dandrifosse{at}ulg.ac.be