Background: There are several barrier systems in the newborn gastrointestinal tract and one of the most important among these are the Toll-like receptors (TLRs). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of glutamine on Toll-like receptors 2 (TLR-2), TLR-4, and TLR-9 levels in the newborn gut.
Material and methods: Rats were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. Group I (control at day 0) (n = 9), group II (control at day 10) (n = 9): oral distilled water, group III (study group) (n = 9): oral glutamine (200 mg/kg/day). After 10 days, the ileojejunal segment was removed for biochemical analyses of TLR-2, -4 and -9.
Results: There was a significant difference between groups for the levels of TLRs. The level of TLR-9 was higher in group I than group II and in group III than group II. There was no statistically significant difference between group I and group III in terms of TLR-9 levels. There were no statistically significant differences between groups for the levels of TLR-2 and TLR-4.
Conclusions: Glutamine administration, by increasing the level of TLR-9, may prevent the increase in the level of TLR-4 in newborn rat intestine. Thus, it may play a protective role in the intestine and reduce the susceptibility to necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), which is associated with the intensity of TLR-4 expression.