Effect of neurotensin on intestinal capillary permeability and blood flow.

Experiments were performed in 10 cats of either sex to ascertain the effects of postprandial arterial plasma concentrations of neurotensin (NT) on intestinal capillary permeability and blood flow. NT was infused intra-arterially into an isolated perfused loop of terminal ileum to produce a 182 +/- 15 (SE) pM plasma NT concentration. Intestinal lymph (L) and plasma (P) protein concentrations were measured at various venous pressures under control conditions and during NT infusion. The osmotic reflection coefficient (sigma d) was estimated under all conditions assuming sigma d = 1 - L/P at high capillary filtration rates. NT infusion significantly (P less than 0.001) reduced sigma d to 0.73 +/- 0.02 (SE) from a control level of 0.91 +/- 0.01. NT infusion also significantly increased intestinal blood flow [47.0 +/- 4.3 (SE) ml X min-1 X 100 g-1] versus control (36.6 +/- 3.2 ml X min-1 X 100 g-1), a 28.4% increase. Intestinal vascular resistance was decreased from 3.21 +/- 0.31 to 2.42 +/- 0.28 mmHg X min X ml-1 X 100 g in the absence of a change in local mean arterial blood pressure. Pore-stripping analysis of lymph and plasma solute fractions during NT infusion at high lymph flows predicted two populations of pores, 330-A and 46-A radius, accounting for 31 and 67%, respectively, of the total transcapillary hydraulic flow. NT infusion preferentially increased large-pore radius as a means of increasing intestinal capillary permeability. The rates of small- to large-pore areas and numbers were 106:1 and 5,225:1, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)