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Telemetric small intestinal motility recording in awake rats: a novel approach
1University Hospital, Department of General and Transplantation Surgery, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 3, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Introduction:
Ideally, gastrointestinal motility recording should be done in freely moving, stress-free animals. However, no such method is currently available for rats.
Methods:
Two NiCr electrodes were sutured to the jejunum and connected to an implantable electromyographic (EMG) transmitter in rats. EMG signals were radio-transmitted to a receiver placed at the bottom of the rats' home cages.
Results:
Fasting and postprandial jejunal EMG signals could be detected by telemetry. Phase III contractions of the MMC were easy to identify visually and occurred at a rate of about 4.8 per hour. Feeding disrupted the phasic contraction pattern 15 min after the start of food intake and lasted for 2 h. The motility index (MI, area under the curve) was calculated and increased postprandially.
Conclusion:
Telemetric transmission of rat gastrointestinal EMG signals is feasible and results are comparable to those given in the literature.