Figure 4.

DALDA (DAL) administration protects against ischemia-induced injury and attenuates bacterial translocation. DALDA, 50 μg/kg, was administered s.c. to MOR^f/f and MOR^IEC−/− mice 10 minutes before ischemia (I) exposure (60 minutes). Healthy tissues (H) represent a nonischemic region of the small bowel adjacent to the damaged area. A: Representative H&E images of ileal Swiss rolls. B: Histological damage scores show DALDA-mediated protection from ischemia injury only in mice with functional IEC-derived MOR signaling (MOR^f/f). N = 5 to 6 per group. C: PCR quantification of total bacterial 16S DNA at 4 hours of reperfusion shows that MOR-mediated protection results in decreased bacterial dissemination to the liver. Data were analyzed by the ΔΔC_T method, normalized to murine Gapdh, and compared with control. N = 4 per group. D: IHC analysis of activated caspase-3 from an ileal section of DALDA-treated MOR^f/f and MOR^IEC−/− mice shows that enterocyte MOR signaling confirms protection from apoptosis during the ischemic phase of injury. Images are representative of three different mice. Scale bars: 200 μm (A and D). Veh, vehicle. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01.