The gut is not only the target but a source of inflammatory mediators inhibiting gastrointestinal motility during sepsis.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is a common problem in intensive care patients leading to multi-organ failure and gastrointestinal paralysis. AIM: The aim of the study was to investigate whether the gastrointestinal tract is not only the target but also the source of inflammatory mediators inhibiting gastrointestinal motility. METHODS: Mesenteric lymph was obtained from rats in which a sepsis was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneally. Gastrointestinal motility was recorded following mesenteric lymph- or TNFα infusion into the jugular vein of separate healthy recipient rats using the strain gauge transducer technique. RESULTS: Infusion of sepsis lymph significantly impairs gastric and colonic motility, decreasing the motility-index in the stomach and colon by about 57% and 21% respectively in comparison to baseline motility. Among other inflammatory mediators, TNFα plays an important role in mediating the inhibitory effect of mesenteric lymph on gastrointestinal motility during sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: The gastrointestinal tract is the source and the target of inflammatory mediators released during sepsis causing paralytic ileus.