Expressions of acetylcholine and norepinephrine in the central nervous system of a rat model of irritable bowel syndrome / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the expressions of acetylcholine and norepinephrine of the central nervous system in a rat model of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and to explore the possible roles of the classical neurotransmitters of the central nervous system in the pathogenesis of IBS. Methods The rat model of IBS was reproduced by intragastric instillation of 2.0ml water at 0-4℃ in male Wistar rats for two weeks. Both the model group and the control underwent rectal distention, then were sacrificed by deep anesthesia. Sections of the posterior horn of the spinal cord and hypothalamus were obtained and processed immunohistochemically using anti-tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) antibodies respectively, and the staining results were analyzed semi-quantitatively using computerized color image analyzer. The statistical difference of the opacity density and immunoreactive areas between two groups was compared by t-test. Results Immunoreactive area, opacity density of AchE immunoreactive tissues in the posterior horn of the spinal cord and hypothalamus of the model group were all significantly higher than those in control group (P0.05). Conclusions The expressions of acetylcholine in the spinal cord and hypothalamus in the rat model of C-IBS were abnormal, which suggested that cholinergic nervous system in the central nervous system may play some roles in the pathogenesis of IBS.