Intravenous Administration of Nucleosides and a Nucleotide Mixture Diminishes Intestinal Mucosal Atrophy Induced by Total Parenteral Nutrition

ABSTRACT. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is associated with atrophic changes in the structure and function of the intestinal mucosa. Because rapidly renewing intestinal mucosal cells may require an external source of purines and pyrimidines for their optimal growth, it can be assumed that supplementa-tion of nucleosides and a nucleotide mixture (OG-VI) during TPN may prevent the progression of mucosal atrophy by com-pensating for a relatively insufficient delivery from liver. To test that hypothesis, male Wistar rats receiving TPN for 7 days were divided into four groups according to different TPN solutions. Group C (n = 10) received a standard solution, group O (n = 10) received OG-VI in addition to the standard solution, and group G (n = 10) received a glutamine-rich TPN solution containing almost the same amount of calories and nitrogen as the standard solution. Group O+G (n = 10) received OG-VI i