Phospholipid profile and fatty acid composition of rat cecal mucosa in relation to intestinal resection

In this study we examined the effect of distal small bowel resection (DSBR) on the phospholipid composition of rat cecal mucosa. Three groups of animals were used: sham-operated, and 50% and 75% DSBR. The fatty acid composition of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylinositol (PI), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and sphingomyelin (SM) was also determined. PE was the predominant phospholipid, together with PC, in the 3 groups of animals. Both phospholipids accounted for more than 60% of the total phospholipids. DSBR affected the phospholipid profile of the cecal mucosa. Thus the ratio PC/PE was increased in the 75% resected animals. A decrease in the proportion of LPC and LPE was observed after DSBR, and the PI proportion was not changed in the resected rats. The phospholipid/cholesterol molar ratio was not modified as a consequence of DSBR. Different fatty acid composition changes in the cecal phospholipid subclasses were observed after DSBR. The PC fraction contained the highest amounts of saturated fatty acids in all the animal groups. Linoleic and arachidonic acids were found in all phospholipid fractions in the 3 groups of animals except in the SM of sham rats and in the LPC of resected rats, in which values of arachidonic acid were not found. All these changes might be involved in physicochemical, biochemical and/or functional adaptations observed in the cecum after DSBR.