Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2023; 29(29): 4557-4570
Published online Aug 7, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i29.4557
Effect of exogenous hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius on gastric motility in rats
Hong-Zhao Sun, Chen-Yu Li, Yuan Shi, Jin-Jin Li, Yi-Ya Wang, Li-Na Han, Lu-Jie Zhu, Ya-Fei Zhang
Hong-Zhao Sun, Chen-Yu Li, Yuan Shi, Jin-Jin Li, Yi-Ya Wang, Li-Na Han, Lu-Jie Zhu, Ya-Fei Zhang, College of Life Science, Qi Lu Normal University, Zhangqiu 250200, Shandong Province, China
Author contributions: Sun HZ and Li CY contributed equally to this work; Sun HZ conceived and designed the experiments; Li CY, Shi Y, Li JJ, Wang YY, Han LN, Zhu LJ, and Zhang YF performed the experiments; Sun HZ and Li CY analyzed the data; Sun HZ provided reagents/materials/analysis tools; Li CY authored the paper; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province, No. ZR2019MC020.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: All animal procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) of Qi Lu Normal University (Approval No. 14276).
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
ARRIVE guidelines statement: The authors have read the ARRIVE Guidelines, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the ARRIVE Guidelines.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hong-Zhao Sun, PhD, Professor, College of Life Science, Qi Lu Normal University, No. 2 Wenbo Road, Zhangqiu 250200, Shandong Province, China. sunhongzhao18@126.com
Received: May 18, 2023
Peer-review started: May 18, 2023
First decision: June 20, 2023
Revised: June 29, 2023
Accepted: July 19, 2023
Article in press: July 19, 2023
Published online: August 7, 2023
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Recent studies have revealed that hydrogen sulfide is the third class of gas signaling molecules after nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO). The high level of endogenous hydrogen sulfide found in the brain, which is mainly produced by cystathionine beta-synthase, suggests that it may have a physiological function, and the nucleus tractus solitarius is important nucleus that regulates the function of internal organs, so we want to elucidate the role of hydrogen sulfide in the NTS in regulating gastric function in rats.

Research motivation

To investigate whether hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius is involved in the regulation of gastric dysfunction by restraint water-immersion stress, this study will examine the role of hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius in the regulation of gastric motility.

Research objectives

It is the first time to propose that hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius has a regulatory effect on the gastric motility caused by restraint water-immersion stress, and to investigate its mechanism of action, which can not only elucidate the mechanism of regulation of gastric dysfunction by hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius, and also provide an important experimental basis for the prevention and treatment of stress gastric ulcer from the central aspect in clinical practice.

Research methods

We used immunohistochemical, fluorescent double-labeling technique and restraint water-immersion stress model to confirm the involvement of hydrogen sulfide-producing cystathionine beta-synthase neurons in the nucleus tractus solitarius in the regulation of gastric function, and physiological methods to record changes in gastric motility before and after their brain injection.

Research results

After restraint water-immersion stress, cystathionine beta-synthase neurons containing c-Fos were significantly increased and gastric motility was inhibited in rats after nucleus tractus solitarius injection of NaHS, and this inhibitory effect was eliminated after pre-injection of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 channels, NF-κB channel blockers, and NK1 receptor antagonists followed by NaHS injection.

Research conclusions

Injection NaHS into the nucleus tractus solitarius can inhibit gastric motility in rats and this effect may be mediated by TRPV1 and NK1 receptors via NF-κB channel-dependent activation.

Research perspectives

Our next step will be to continue our work on the effects of endogenous hydrogen sulfide in the nucleus tractus solitarius on gastric function.