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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Functional Assessment of Intestinal Tight Junction Barrier and Ion Permeability in Native Tissue by Ussing Chamber Technique
Published on: May 26, 2021
Intestinal paracellular permeability is not affected in chronic congestive heart failure
M Schaufelberger1, I Ekman, E Björnsson
1Department of Internal Medicine, Sahlgrenska University Hospital Ostra, Gothenburg, Sweden. maria.schaufelberger@hjl.gu.se
Background:
In chronic heart failure (CHF) it has been proposed that a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal barrier could lead to translocation of endotoxin into the systemic circulation. A secondary inflammatory reaction, observed as increased levels of cytokines, could negatively affect cardiac function. The aims of this paper were therefore to determine whether patients with CHF have a disturbed mucosal barrier and whether it was possible to detect endotoxin in venous blood.
Methods:
Nineteen stable patients with CHF (New York Heart Association II-III, EF
Results:
Eleven patients with and eight without peripheral oedema were included. Median age was 76.5 years. Intestinal permeability was 1.82+/-1.96% in the CHF patients and 1.54+/-.59% and 1.9+/-.9% in HS and BMT groups, respectively (p=0.4 and p=0.7, CHF vs HS and BMT, respectively). No difference was found between patients with and without oedema and endotoxins were below the detection limit in all patients.
Discussion:
This study does not support the hypothesis that patients with CHF have a dysfunctional gastrointestinal barrier, at least as assessed by the (51)Cr-EDTA resorbtion test.
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