Developmental aspects of steroid‐induced ammonia release from isolated sections of rat intestine.

Abstract

Release of ammonia from isolated intestinal sections of adult male rats is higher than that measured using immature animals. The increase appears to be Na+ dependent and develops during the spurt of growth at puberty. Developmental changes in Na+-dependent ammonia release from isolated sections of the intestine and growth of the small intestine in male and female rats have been compared. Intestinal growth increases far more rapidly than body weight and in the males critical developmental changes occur early during weaning and during puberty. In females the major change is at weaning and little further change occurs during puberty. Treatment of young animals with aldosterone or testosterone increases the Na+-dependent ammonia release precociously. Dose-response effects of testosterone and aldosterone in distal sections of the small intestine have been compared.

Prognostic Role of Ammonia in Critical Care Patients Without Known Hepatic Disease

“…The intestine is an important place to produce ammonia, and a recent mouse study found that corticosteroids induced ammonia release from the intestine. There appears to be a close relationship between epithelial sodium uptake and ammonia release (28), since one of the adverse effects of corticosteroids is hypernatremia, this effect of high sodium levels in the intestine may be the cause of an increased blood ammonia level in patients taking corticosteroids.…”