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


METHODS
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.


RESULTS
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.


CONCLUSIONS
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.
Department of General Surgery, Kocaeli University School of Medicine, Kocaeli, Turkey.
Erdem
E
Okay
Oguz
O
Mutlu
Semil S
SS
Gocmez
Sarpkaya
S
Oz
Tijen
T
Utkan
D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D002217:Carbachol / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility / Q000187:drug effects*; D006498:Hepatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D007082:Ileum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D023421:Models, Animal; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*; D009126:Muscle Relaxation / Q000187:drug effects; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000494:pharmacology; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D009599:Nitroprusside; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D002217:Carbachol; D000111:Acetylcysteine