Diabetic rats supplemented with L-glutamine: A study of immunoreactive myosin-V myenteric neurons and the proximal colonic mucosa

We studied the neuronal density and size of myenteric neurons and the epithelial cell proliferation and crypt depth of the proximal colon in diabetic Wistar rats after supplementing them with L-glutamine (1%). The animals were divided into five groups: untreated normoglycemic (UN), L-glutamine-treated normoglycemic (NG), untreated diabetic (UD), and L-glutamine-treated diabetics 4 days (DG4) and 45 days (DG45) days after the onset of diabetes. We observed a reduction of 52.7% and 50.44% in the neuronal density of the proximal colon of the UD group compared to the UN and NG groups, respectively (P < 0.05). The neuronal density found for the DG4 (32.8%) and DG45 (28.6%) groups was higher than that of the UD group (P > 0.05). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) when the data relative to the area of the myenteric neuron cell bodies, metaphasic index, and crypt depth in the proximal colon were compared among experimental groups.