Marc S. Levin, M.D.

RESEARCH INTEREST

Short bowel syndrome resulting from diminished intestinal absorptive function is a major cause of morbidity and impaired quality of life. Although transplantation is an alternative for a small subset of selected patients, strategies designed to increase the function of the remnant intestine are clearly still needed. The major goal of my laboratory (and of collaborative efforts with Dr. Rubin's laboratory) is to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the adaptive response to facilitate the design of rational nutritional and pharmacological regimens to maximize gut adaptation. Rodent resection models are being used in studies that are focused on identification of genes, cell products and nutrients that mediate the adaptive response. A particular focus is on the role that nutrients such as vitamin A play in initiating and maintaining intestinal adaptation. Vitamin A deficiency has been shown to inhibit adaptation following by reducing crypt cell proliferation, by enhancing early crypt cell apoptosis, and by markedly reducing enterocyte migration rates, which may be related to changes in the expression of collagen IV and other extracellular matrix components. Administration of vitamin A has been shown to enhance adaptation by inhibiting apoptosis, stimulating proliferation and enterocyte migration.

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