Acta histochemica 111 (2009) 74—82 Effects of ocreotide on intestinal mucosa in rats with portal hypertensive enteropathy Hasan Aydede a,Ã , H. Seda Vatansever b , Yamac Erhan a , Ozer Ilkgu ¨l c a Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, 35290 Faikbey, Turkey b Department of Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey c Private Anadolu Hospital, Antalya, Turkey Received 5 February 2008; received in revised form 9 April 2008; accepted 16 April 2008 KEYWORDS Portal hypertensive enteropathy; Portal hypertension; Ocreotide; Vascular endothelial growth factor Summary To clarify the effects of long-term ocreotide (a long-acting somatostatin analogue) treatment on mucosal changes in a rat model of portal hypertensive enteropathy, groups of male Swiss albino rats (n ¼ 15 each) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment arms. These were: sham laparotomy+twice daily subcutaneous saline 0.5 mL (Group 1); portal hypertension induction+twice daily subcutaneous saline 0.5 mL (Group 2); and portal hypertension induction+subcutaneous ocreotide 100 mg/kg/12 h (Group 3). After 12 weeks of treatment, jejunal and ileal tissue specimens were obtained and evaluated histopathologically (villus/crypt ratio, mean diameter of dilated vessels, mucosal edema, and fibromuscular proliferation in the lamina propria) and immunohistochemically (vascular endothe- lial growth factor (VEGF), von Willebrand factor (F8), and cluster of differen- tiation 34 (CD34) labelling). In jejunal specimens, the villus/crypt ratio was markedly lower in Group 2 (2.3870.46 mm) than in Group 1 (5.0772.25 mm) or Group 3 (4.9772.19 mm); mean diameter of dilated vessels was markedly higher in Group 2 (43.3075.71 mm) than in Group 1 (33.5374.00 mm) or Group 3 (36.7673.96 mm); mucosal edema and fibromuscular proliferation were universally absent in Group 1 when compared with the other groups. There were statistically significant differences (po0.05) between Groups 1 and 2 for villus/crypt ratio, mean diameter of dilated vessels, VEGF immunolabelling intensity, and CD34 immunolabelling intensity; between Groups 1 and 3 for mean diameter of dilated vessels, VEGF immunolabelling intensity, and CD34 immunolabelling intensity; and between Groups 2 and 3 for villus/crypt ratio, mean diameter of dilated vessels, and VEGF immunolabelling intensity. In ileal tissue specimens, the villus/crypt ratio was markedly lower in Group 2 (5.5170.67 mm) than in either Group 1 (7.1972.18 mm) or Group 3 (7.6272.58 mm); mean diameter of dilated vessels was markedly higher in Group 2 (46.3674.77 mm) than in either Group 1 ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.de/acthis 0065-1281/$ - see front matter & 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.acthis.2008.04.004 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +90532 3631214; fax: +90236 2331466. E-mail address: hasanaydede@hotmail.com (H. Aydede).