Objective:To investigate the protective effect of taurine on small intestinal injury induced by liver ischemia/reperfusion in rats.
Methods:Rats were randomly assigned into sham operation control group, hepatic I/R group and taurine pretreatment plus hepatic I/R group. Hepatic I/R model was produced by occlusion of both hepatic artery and portal vein for 30 min and then followed by reperfusion. The blood samples were collected at 3, 6 and 24 h after reperfusion in each group, and the serum levels of diamine oxidase (DAO) were determined to evaluate the function of small bowels. Meawhile, the rats′small bowels were excised to measure the contents of SOD and MDA in intestinal tissues, for evaluating the degree of free radical injury. Tissues of small bowels were sectioned and the histopathological changes were observed with HE staining, TUNEL method was used to examine the apoptosis, and caspase-3 expression was detected by immunohistochemistry. 
Results:Compared with control group, the serum level of SOD in hepatic I/R group was significantly decreased (P＜0.05), while the serum level of MDA and DAO significantly increased (P＜0.05). The small bowel of hepatic I/R group showed severe injury, and its apoptotic index as well as the caspase-3 expression were significantly increased compared with control group (both P＜0.05). All indices examined at each predefined time point of the taurine pretreated group were significantly improved compared with those of the hepatic I/R group (all P＜0.05).
Conclusions:Taurine has protective effects on small intestinal injury induced by hepatic ischemia/reperfusion.