Semaphorin 3A expression following intestinal ischemia/reperfusion injury in Sox10-Venus mice

Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) is a protein secreted during development of the nervous system that plays an important role in neuronal pathophysiology. However, there is no known correlation between Sema3A and intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We assessed Sema3A expression and distribution in relation to enteric nervous system (ENS) damage seen after intestinal I/R injury in Sox10-Venus mice.

Intestinal I/R injury was induced by vascular occlusion for 3 h. Ileal specimens were harvested 0, 3, 12, 24, 48, and 96 h after reperfusion. Stereoscopic microscopy and fluorescence microscopy were used to assess sox10-Venus⁺ cells and PGP9.5⁺ cells.

By 3 h after reperfusion, Sema3A expression had increased to a maximum and Sox10-Venus⁺ cells had faded to a minimum in harvested ileal segments. Both differences were statistically significant. By 96 h after reperfusion, both Sema3A and Sox10-Venus⁺ cell fluorescence had reverted to original levels. Hematoxylin and eosin staining identified histologic damage mimicking Sema3A expression, while PGP9.5⁺ cell response was minimal.

We are the first to demonstrate a correlation between Sema3A expression and ENS damage following intestinal I/R in Sox10-Venus mice.