Antioxidant-Based Therapy Reduces Early-Stage Intestinal Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in Rats

Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury (i-IRI) is a rare disorder with a high mortality rate, resulting from the loss of blood flow to an intestinal segment. Most of the damage is triggered by the restoration of flow and the arrival of cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS), among others. Inactivation of these molecules before tissue reperfusion could reduce intestinal damage. The aim of this work was to analyze the preventive effect of allopurinol and nitroindazole on intestinal mucosal damage after i-IRI. Wag/RijHsd rats were subjected to i-IRI by clamping the superior mesenteric artery (for 1 or 2 h) followed by a 30 min period of reperfusion. Histopathological intestinal damage (HID) was assessed by microscopic examination of histological sections obtained from injured intestine. HID was increased by almost 20% by doubling the ischemia time (from 1 to 2 h). Nitroindazole reduced HID in both the 1 and 2 h period of ischemia by approximately 30% and 60%, respectively (p < 0.001). Our preliminary results demonstrate that nitroindazole has a preventive/protective effect against tissue damage in the early stages of i-IRI. However, to better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon, further studies are needed.