Effects of nitric oxide on mucosal barrier dysfunction during early phase of intestinal ischemia/reperfusion

Abstract Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury must be overcome for successful small intestinal transplantation. During intestinal I/R, the expression level of nitric oxide (NO) is increased, and vermiculation of the mucosal tract is induced by NO. Although NO has many beneficial effects on intestinal I/R injury, its role in intestinal I/R injury is controversial. Therefore, in the present study, we examined changes in the tight junctions (TJ) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) by aminoguanidine (AG), which can be considered a selective inducible NO synthase inhibitor during intestinal I/R, to clarify the effect of NO on mucosal barrier dysfunction during intestinal I/R. A mucosal lesion was induced by intestinal I/R. The protein expression levels of the claudin family organizing TJ and P-gp, were decreased, and their functions were also decreased. Through the inhibition of NO generation by AG in the above mucosal lesion, TJ and P-gp dysfunction was significantly inhibited. NO participated in opening TJ and decreasing P-gp function and expression induced during intestinal I/R. Therefore, it is important to consider the level of NO generation in the ileal mucosa in drug therapy for intestinal I/R injury.