Objective: To evaluate regeneration and proliferation of the mucosa cells following intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury.
Methods: Sixty rats (200-250 g) were examined after intestinal I/R injury with immunohistochemical (BrdU) method and flow cytometric analysis.
Results: Severe damage to the villi was evident at 2 hours reperfusion and the rate of cell proliferation was lower (P < 0.01). All the specimens has healed mucosa with re-epithelialized villi tips after 2 days regeneration, but the villi were scarce and tiny. After two and four days regeneration, the rate of cell proliferation was significantly higher than that of controls (P < 0.01).
Conclusions: Our study suggests that the intestinal regeneration following I/R injury in rats occurs early. The immunohistochemical method with BrdU-labeled technique is a rapid method for quantifying the rate of cellular DNA synthesis.