Changes and Mechanisms of Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function in Chronicobstructive Pulmonary Disease Rats
Objective The purpose of this research was to explore the alterations in intestinal mucosal bar-rier performance of rats with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-COPD,and its potential cause.Method 16 rats were randomly split into two groups:the control group(n=8)and the COPD group(n=8).Under transmission electron microscope,the number and morphological changes of goblet cells and intestinal epithelial cells were observed in a COPD rat model induced by cigarette smoke stimulation and intratracheal injection of lipopolysaccharide(LPS).ELISA was used to detect the expression of MUC2,Il-1β and TNF-α in the in-testinal mucosa of the rats,while q-PCR was utilized to detect MUC2 mRNA.Results In the COPD group,the intestinal epithelial cells were arranged irregularly,the nuclear shape was irregular,the endoplasmic reticu-lum structure was unclear,and the desmosome connection between the cells was blurred.The COPD group's mRNA levels of MUC2 and MUC2 in the small intestinal mucosa were significantly reduced(P<0.05)while the Proinflammatory cytokine levels of TNF-α and Il-1β were significantly augmented(P<0.05).Conclu-sions This suggests that the intestinal mucosal barrier is impaired in COPD rats,likely due to the decrease of MUC2 and the augmentation of intestinal inflammatory reaction.