Bacterial translocation is a common complication of chronic portal hypertension and hepatic cirrhosis in human pathology. The aim of this work is to verify the presence of intestinal bacterial translocation (IBT) in rats with prehepatic portal hypertension by means of a new technique of partial portal vein ligation. Bacteria found in the lumen of distal ileum and rectum of male Wistar rats with triple calibration of portal vein stenosis at short (48 h, n = 10 and 30 days, n = 10) and long (1 year, n = 10) postoperative evolution (p.e) were quantified. Changes in the distribution of intestinal bacteria as well as the existence of IBT to mesenteric lymph nodes were studied.

Bacterial translocation to mesenteric lymph nodes is found at 48 h (50% ; p<0,005), 1 month (100%; p<0,001) and 1 year (16,7%) of p.e. IBT is related with an increase of anaerobic bacteria in ileum (p<0,01) and a decrease of Enterococcus (p<0,01), Streptococcus sp (p<0,001) and Lactobacillus (p<0,05) at 48 h of p.e. Lactobacillus decreases (p<0,05) while Enterobacteriaceae (p<0,001) and Enterococcus (p<0,001) increase at one month of p.e. Finally Lactobacillus also decreases (p<0,01) at 1 year of p.e. Prehepatic portal hypertension after triple portal vein stenosis in the rat would cause splanchnic venous stasis with ischemia and oxidative stress of intestinal mucosa as well as imbalance of the luminal microflora. These factors could be implicated in the pathology of IBT to mesenteric lymph nodes at short and long term in this experimental model.