title: [The protective effects of sacral nerve electrostimulation on intestinal mucosal mechanical barrier in rats with spinal cord injury].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the protective effects of sacral nerve root electrostimulation on intestinal mechanical barrier in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty six Wistar rats were divided into normal group, SCI control group and SCI group with sacral nerve root electrostimulation (8 rats in each subgroup at 24, 48, 72 h after spinal cord injury). The following experiments were performed respectively in rats from the 3 groups: bacteria culture from intestinal mesentery lymph nodes, liver, spleen, intestinal morphology observation and detection the protein expression level of ZO-1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intestinal mucosa appeared different degree of damage in SCI control group; cell-cell connections between intestinal epithelial cells were destroyed; Endotoxin levels in blood and the number of bacterial translocation increased obviously. Sacral nerve stimulation was found toimprove the intestinal mucosal, reduce the endotoxin content in the blood to normal level and the decrease the incidences of bacterial translocation of the gut origin. The expression of tight junction protein ZO-1 of rat intestinal tissue had no statistical differences among the 3 groups. On the other hand, the distribution of tight junction protein ZO-1 appeared different degrees of scattered and irregular in the control group while that in the experimental group appeared different degree of improvement as determined by the immunohistochemistry of rat intestinal tissue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  sacral nerve root electrostimulation can rehabilitate the peristalsis of denervated colon, promote defeacation and decrease bacterial amount, protection of the intestinal mechanical barrier between intestinal epithelial cells and tight junction, reducing the endotoxin content in the blood and suppressing bacterial translocation from the gut.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Spine Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Logistics University of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Tianjin, China. baich991@sohu.com
authors.forename: Chun-Hong
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Shuang-Ying
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Li-Na
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Ning
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018988:Bacterial Translocation; D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000097:blood; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000502:physiology*; D010528:Peristalsis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013116:Spinal Cord; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D062826:Zonula Occludens-1 Protein / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004731:Endotoxins; D062826:Zonula Occludens-1 Protein