Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 24, 2025
A Mouse Model of Intestinal Partial Obstruction
Published on: March 5, 2018
Muscle hypertrophy and neuroplasticity in the small bowel in short bowel syndrome
Rasul Khasanov1, Daniel Svoboda2, María Ángeles Tapia-Laliena2
1Department of Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim of Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167, Mannheim, Germany. Rasul.Khasanov@medma.uni-heidelberg.de.
Insights
Short bowel syndrome (SBS) triggers significant muscle growth and increased neuronal stem cells in the remaining intestine. The enteric nervous system (ENS) plays a key role in intestinal adaptation following SBS.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a critical condition leading to intestinal failure, particularly in children.
- Understanding intestinal adaptation mechanisms is vital for managing SBS.
- The enteric nervous system (ENS) role in adaptation requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate morphological changes in small bowel muscle layers and the myenteric plexus in SBS.
- To assess the expression of nestin, a neuronal plasticity marker, in SBS.
- To correlate ENS changes with intestinal adaptation in SBS.
Main Methods:
- Induction of SBS in rats via massive small bowel resection.
- Sham surgery in control rats.
- Morphological and immunohistochemical analysis of jejunum and ileum samples from rats and human SBS patients.
- Quantification of nestin expression and stem cell proportion in the myenteric plexus.
Main Results:
- SBS significantly increased muscle tissue in the jejunum and ileum, primarily through hypertrophy.
- Nestin expression was elevated in the myenteric plexus of rats with SBS.
- Human SBS patients exhibited a twofold increase in myenteric plexus stem cells.
Conclusions:
- The enteric nervous system (ENS) is intrinsically linked to intestinal muscle layer remodeling during adaptation.
- Increased nestin expression and stem cell proliferation in the myenteric plexus suggest active neuronal plasticity in SBS.
- The ENS is critically involved in the adaptive processes following short bowel syndrome.
Abstract:
Short bowel syndrome (SBS) is a severe, life-threatening condition and one of the leading causes of intestinal failure in children. Here we were interested in changes in muscle layers and especially in the myenteric plexus of the enteric nervous system (ENS) of the small bowel in the context of intestinal adaptation. Twelve rats underwent a massive resection of the small intestine to induce SBS. Sham laparotomy without small bowel transection was performed in 10 rats. Two weeks after surgery, the remaining jejunum and ileum were harvested and studied. Samples of human small bowel were obtained from patients who underwent resection of small bowel segments due to a medical indication. Morphological changes in the muscle layers and the expression of nestin, a marker for neuronal plasticity, were studied. Following SBS, muscle tissue increases significantly in both parts of the small bowel, i.e., jejunum and ileum. The leading pathophysiological mechanism of these changes is hypertrophy. Additionally, we observed an increased nestin expression in the myenteric plexus in the remaining bowel with SBS. Our human data also showed that in patients with SBS, the proportion of stem cells in the myenteric plexus had risen by more than twofold. Our findings suggest that the ENS is tightly connected to changes in intestinal muscle layers and is critically involved in the process of intestinal adaptation to SBS.
