Abstract:
This paper examines the role of vasoactive intestinal peptid (VIP) in the pathogenesis of the postoperative ileus. By means of strain gauges attached to the stomach, the small intestine or the colon of Sprague-Dawley rats, the gastrointestinal motility in an ileus model could be recorded. Before the operation, the animals were injected with a VIP-receptor antagonist (D-P-Chloro-Phe6, Leu17-VIP) or placebo. Separate sets of experiments were conducted for the stomach, the small intestine and the colon.
For the stomach, a significant increase in postoperative motility was observed after the injection of the VIP receptor antagonist: the motility index reached 98+/-8% of its original level (100+/-5%) already 45 minutes after induction of the ileus, whereas in animals treated with placebo only 65+/-4% of the original motility (100+/-4%) was observed within 120 minutes post operation.
In the small intestine, pretreatment with VIP antagonist did not lead to a significant increase in motility within the 120 min duration of the experiment. Also in the colon, no increase of the postoperative motility index was observed after treatment with the VIP receptor antagonist. However, a significant increase in contraction frequency compared to the control animals, (VIP-RA: 7+/-0,5 contractions per 5 minutes, placebo: 5+/-0,2 contractions per 5 minutes, p<0,001) could be observed there.
In summary, this work points towards a role of vasoactive intestinal peptide in the postoperative ileus of the stomach and the colon, as pretreatment with a VIP receptor antagonist significantly increased postoperative motility or contraction frequency, respectively. This opens new possibilities for treatment of the postoperative ileus as it possibly can shorten the duration, which is clinically most relevant.