N-Acetylcysteine improves disturbed ileal contractility following partial hepatectomy in rats

It is well known that disturbed intestinal motility and bacterial overgrowth may occur following partial hepatectomy. These events have been followed by the translocation of enteric bacteria that play a major role in the development of infections. We designed the present study to evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on ileal muscle contractility as an indication of intestinal motility.

Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups (n = 6): sham, sham plus preoperative intraperitoneal NAC injection, hepatectomy, and hepatectomy plus preoperative intraperitoneal NAC injection. Contractile and relaxant responses in isolated ileal smooth muscle strips were determined using an in vitro muscle technique. Statistical analyses were performed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests.

Contractile responses to KCl and carbachol were significantly decreased in the ileal strips of the hepatectomy group when compared to the sham-operated control group. The impaired contraction of strips was markedly improved by preoperative NAC treatment. However, neither the electrical field stimulation nor the sodium nitroprusside-mediated relaxant responses changed in any of the groups.

Our data indicated that disturbed ileal contractility after partial hepatectomy was remedied by preoperative NAC treatment, which in turn might cause attenuation of bacterial translocation.