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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
Intestinal Stem Cell Isolation and Culture in a Porcine Model of Segmental Small Intestinal Ischemia
Published on: May 18, 2018
Do lesions of the enteric nervous system occur following intestinal ischemia/reperfusion?
Glauber Kazuo Linhares1, José Luiz Martins, Fernanda Fontanezzi
1Faculty of Medicine, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Purpose:
To evaluate tissue lesions, especially those of the intestinal innervation, in an excluded jejunal loop subjected to ischemia and reperfusion in rats.
Methods:
To evaluate the role of ischemia and reperfusion lesions in an excluded intestinal loop, four groups of 20 rats were set up: control group (GCEI7) and three experimental groups (GIREI7, GIREI14 and GIREI28). They were all subjected to exclusion of an intestinal segment of six centimeters in length, at a distance of 10 centimeters from the Treitz angle. The 60 animals in the three experimental groups were additionally subjected to ischemia of the vascular pedicle for 30 minutes. The control group and the experimental group GIREI7 were evaluated on the 7th day after the operation. The groups GIREI14 and GIREI28 (which also underwent ischemia) were utilized to evaluate the evolution of the lesion over time, on the 14th and 28th days after the operation, respectively. From the intestinal excluded loop, we take one ring of 0,5 cm distal and proximal, that were fixed in formaline 10% solution in order to do histological (HE) and immuno-hystochemial (PS-100) evaluation (enteric nervous system.) The distal loop was exteriorized in stoma and the proximal part closed with polipropilene 6-0.
Results:
It was observed a decrease in the number of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus in the group subjected to ischemia and reperfusion (GIREI7), in relation to the control group (GCEI7) at the 7th post-operative day (Mann-Whitney test: p = 0.0173 *. Comparing the numbers of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus before and after jejunal loop exclusion GCEI7 - (Wilcoxon test: p = 0.0577). GIREI7 - Comparing the numbers of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus before and after ischemia (*p = 0.0399). Comparing the percentage variations in ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus on the 7th, 14th and 28th days after the procedure, in the groups GIREI7, GIREI14 and GIREI28, it was observed that there were no significant alterations. Kruskal-Wallis test: p = 0.6501.
Conclusion:
There was a decrease in the number of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus due to ischemia and reperfusion that did not recover in the late post-operative period.
Insights
Ischemia and reperfusion caused a decrease in myenteric plexus ganglionic cells in excluded jejunal loops in rats. This reduction in enteric nervous system cells did not show recovery in the later post-operative stages.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Surgical Research
- Histopathology
Background:
- Intestinal ischemia and reperfusion can lead to significant tissue damage.
- The enteric nervous system is crucial for intestinal function and can be affected by ischemic events.
- Understanding the long-term effects of ischemia on the enteric nervous system is vital for surgical outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of ischemia and reperfusion on the enteric nervous system within an excluded jejunal loop in a rat model.
- To evaluate the presence and extent of tissue lesions, particularly in the intestinal innervation.
- To assess the recovery of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus over time following ischemic injury.
Main Methods:
- A rat model was utilized with four groups: one control and three experimental groups subjected to jejunal loop exclusion and ischemia.
- Experimental groups underwent 30 minutes of vascular pedicle ischemia, with evaluations at 7, 14, and 28 days post-operation.
- Histological and immunohistochemical analyses (HE and PS-100) were performed on intestinal tissue to assess ganglionic cell counts in the myenteric plexus.
Main Results:
- A significant decrease in ganglionic cells of the myenteric plexus was observed in the ischemia-reperfusion group compared to the control group at 7 days post-operation (p = 0.0173).
- Ischemia and reperfusion led to a significant reduction in ganglionic cells within the jejunal loop (p = 0.0399).
- No significant recovery in the number of ganglionic cells was noted at 14 or 28 days post-procedure across the experimental groups (p = 0.6501).
Conclusions:
- Ischemia and reperfusion injury results in a notable loss of ganglionic cells in the myenteric plexus of excluded jejunal loops.
- The observed decrease in enteric nervous system cells due to ischemia and reperfusion does not recover in the late post-operative period.
- These findings highlight the potential for long-term functional impairment of the intestine following ischemic events affecting the enteric nervous system.
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