Remodelación esplácnica secundaria a hipertensión portal prehepática experimental

Objective: Portal hypertension as an inducer of intestinal inflammatory response would cause epithelial and splanchnic vascular remodeling in the long-term. This experimental study was carried out to verify this hypothesis. Method: Structural alterations characteristic of intestinal epithelial and mesenteric vascular remodeling, the density of goblet cells and the diameter of mesenteric vein branches were studied, respectively, in rats with partial portal vein ligation in the short (I month) and long-term (1 year). Results: Hyperplasia of goblet cells in the small intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) is maximum after I year of evolution of the portal hypertension and is associated with dilatation of the distal branches (3rd and 4th order) of the superior mesenteric vein. Conclusion: Long-term splanchnic remodeling in experimental portal hypertension suggests the existence of a chronic inflammatory process in this clinical condition.