Brief Article
Copyright ©2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2010; 16(29): 3680-3686
Published online Aug 7, 2010. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v16.i29.3680
ICC density predicts bacterial overgrowth in a rat model of post-infectious IBS
Sam-Ryong Jee, Walter Morales, Kimberly Low, Christopher Chang, Amy Zhu, Venkata Pokkunuri, Soumya Chatterjee, Edy Soffer, Jeffrey L Conklin, Mark Pimentel
Sam-Ryong Jee, Walter Morales, Kimberly Low, Christopher Chang, Amy Zhu, Venkata Pokkunuri, Soumya Chatterjee, Edy Soffer, Jeffrey L Conklin, Mark Pimentel, GI Motility Program, Division of Gastroenterology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Author contributions: Jee SR, Morales W, Chang C and Pimentel M designed the study, conducted the experiments and wrote the manuscript; Low K, Zhu A, Pokkunuri V and Chatterjee S conducted the experiments; Soffer E and Conklin JL designed the experiments and wrote the manuscript.
Supported by A grant from Beatrice and Samuel A Seaver Foundation as well as the Shoolman Foundation
Correspondence to: Mark Pimentel, MD, FRCP (C), Director, GI Motility Program, Division of Gastroenterology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8730 Alden Drive, Suite 225E, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States. pimentelm@cshs.org
Telephone: +1-310-4236143 Fax: +1-310-4238356
Received: November 12, 2009
Revised: January 7, 2010
Accepted: January 14, 2010
Published online: August 7, 2010
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) number using a new rat model.

METHODS: Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to two groups. The first group received gavage with Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) 81-176. The second group was gavaged with placebo. Three months after clearance of Campylobacter from the stool, precise segments of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were ligated in self-contained loops of bowel that were preserved in anaerobic bags. Deep muscular plexus ICC (DMP-ICC) were quantified by two blinded readers assessing the tissue in a random, coded order. The number of ICC per villus was compared among controls, Campylobacter recovered rats without small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and Campylobacter recovered rats with SIBO.

RESULTS: Three months after recovery, 27% of rats gavaged with C. jejuni had SIBO. The rats with SIBO had a lower number of DMP-ICC than controls in the jejunum and ileum. Additionally there appeared to be a density threshold of 0.12 DMP-ICC/villus that was associated with SIBO. If ileal density of DMP-ICC was < 0.12 ICC/villus, 54% of rats had SIBO compared to 9% among ileal sections with > 0.12 (P < 0.05). If the density of ICC was < 0.12 DMP-ICC/villus in more than one location of the bowel, 88% of these had SIBO compared to 6% in those who did not (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: In this post-infectious rat model, the development of SIBO appears to be associated with a reduction in DMP-ICC. Further study of this rat model might help understand the pathophysiology of post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome.

Keywords: Post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome; Bacterial overgrowth; Interstitial cells of Cajal; Campylobacter