Abdominal surgery-induced inhibition of gastric emptying is mediated in part by interleukin-1 beta
Coimbra, C.R.; Plourde, V.
American Journal of Physiology 270(3 Pt 2): R556-R560
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9513 PMID: 8780220 Document Number: 461397
The role of interleukin-1b (IL-1b) in abdominal surgery-induced inhibition of gastric emptying was investigated. Abdominal surgery was performed under halothane anesthesia, and 5 min later, the 20-min rate of gastric emptying was measured by the phenol red method in conscious animals. In nonoperated animals, intravenous IL-1b dose dependently decreased gastric emptying from 55.1 ± 1.7% in controls to 8.0 ± 3.5% (P < 0.05) after treatment with 1 mg IL-1b. Prior administration of IL-1b receptor antagonist (IL-1bra; 200 mg) completely abolished the inhibitory effects of IL-1b. Surgery inhibited gastric emptying by 83.4% compared with rats receiving anesthesia alone. IL-1bra (200 mg) reversed the inhibition of gastric emptying by 34.8% (P < 0.05) in the early (30 min) postoperative period and by 32.3% (P < 0.05) in the late (120 min) postoperative period. Use of calcitonin gene-related peptide-(8-37) in combination with IL-1bra in operated animals resulted in no further reversal in the inhibition of gastric emptying: CGRP-(8-37)-treated animals 42.1 ± 4.1%; CGRP-(8-37) + IL1bra 38.0 ± 4.4% (not significant). Moreover, in nonoperated animals, CGRP-(8-37) completely abolished the effects of intravenous IL-1b on gastric emptying: IL-1b-treated animals = 11.1 ± 2.0%; IL-1b + CGRP-(8-37) = 40.6 ± 6.4% (P < 0.05). These results suggest that IL-1b is mediating part of the gastric ileus observed after abdominal surgery through the release of CGRP from the visceral afferents. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.