The gut in the acute phase response: Changes in colonic and hepatic enzyme activity in response to dermal inflammation in the rat

1. Transient mild dermal inflammation was produced in rats by the subcutaneous injection of either carageenan or monosodium urate crystals. The activities of enzymes of the sialic acid metabolic pathway were measured in liver and colon at 8 h, 3 days and 7 days.

2. In both liver and colon the UDP-N-acetyl-d-glucosamine 2-epimerase and asialo-α₁-acid glycoprotein sialyltransferase activities increased relative to controls while that of CMP-sialic acid hydrolase decreased. Similar changes occurred for both carageenan and monosodium urate crystals.

3. These results indicate that the acute phase response to a relatively minor inflammatory lesion causes significant changes in a distant and apparently unrelated tissue.