Characterization of mitomycin C-induced gastrointestinal damage: changes in the gastric absorption of drugs in rats

Characterization of mitomycin C-induced gastrointestinal damage. I. In situ recirculation experiment

The effects of mitomycin C (MMC), an anti-tumor agent, on the intestinal absorption of various drugs in rats were investigated. Based on microscopic observations, preadministration of a single intravenous dose of MMC (3 mg/kg) caused serious degeneration of epithelial cells, villous atrophy, and mitotic arrest in crypts at 48 hr after pretreatment. At this time point, absorption of sulfanilamide, salicylic acid, cephalexin, and L-tryptophan was shown to be significantly decreased by means of an in situ recirculation technique. The histological changes and the decrease in absorption of sulfanilamide, a model for passively absorbed drugs, were shown to depend on the timing of MMC pretreatment. Maximal effects were observed 48 hr after dosing. The MMC-induced reduction in the absorption of drugs was not a result of differences between treated and control animals with respect to pH of the drug solution, binding of drugs with intraluminal macromolecules, or intestinal mucosal blood flow. The absorption of sulfanilamide from the small intestine in the in situ system correlated well with the wet weight of the small intestine regardless of pretreatment dose or route. This suggests that the change in absorptive surface area of the intestinal mucosa may play a major role in the MMC-induced decrease in absorption capacity of the intestine.

Decreased transport of D-glucose and L-alanine across brush-border membrane vesicles from small intestine of rats treated with mitomycin C

To elucidate the mechanisms underlying the dysfunctions of intestinal absorption induced by antitumor drugs, the effect of pretreatment with mitomycin C on sodium gradient-dependent D-glucose and L-alanine transports was studied in rat brush-border membrane vesicles. 24, 48, 96, or 120 h following a single intravenous injection of mitomycin C, brush-border membrane vesicles were prepared from rat small-intestines. The uptake of D-glucose and L-alanine was shown to be Na+ gradient-dependent even in the case of vesicles obtained from mitomycin C-treated rats, but uptake rates measured at 15 s and magnitude of overshooting effect in uptake of both solutes were decreased in vesicles maximally from 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats. The rate of D-glucose uptake calculated at 15 s recovered to the control level in vesicles prepared at 96 h and 120 h after mitomycin C-treatment, indicating that the effect of mitomycin C on Na+ gradient-dependent D-glucose transport would be fully reversible. Tracer exchange experiments under Na+ and D-glucose equilibrated conditions indicated that the Na+/D-glucose transporters were similarly operative in the vesicles from control and 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats. Rates of 22Na+ uptake measured at 15 s in vesicles from 48 h mitomycin C-treated rats, however, were increased. The increased permeability to Na+ might bring about a more rapid dissipation of the Na+ gradient in these vesicles and this would secondarily cause the decrease in Na+-dependent D-glucose uptake in vesicles from mitomycin C-treated rats.