Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Feb 27, 2019; 11(2): 85-92
Published online Feb 27, 2019. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v11.i2.85
In vivo expression of thrombospondin-1 suppresses the formation of peritoneal adhesion in rats
Yun-Sheng Tai, I-Ming Jou, Yun-Chih Jung, Chao-Liang Wu, Ai-Li Shiau, Chih-Yi Chen
Yun-Sheng Tai, Chih-Yi Chen, Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Yun-Sheng Tai, Department of Surgery, EDa Hospital, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan
Yun-Sheng Tai, I-Shou University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan
I-Ming Jou, Department of Orthopedics, EDa Hospital, Kaohsiung 824, Taiwan
Yun-Chih Jung, Department of Pathology, Sinlau Christian Hospital, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Chao-Liang Wu, Department of Biochemistry, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Ai-Li Shiau, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, National Cheng Kung University Medical College, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Author contributions: Tai YS designed and performed the experiments; Jou IM, Wu CL and Shiau AL analyzed the data; Tai YS and Chen CY wrote the paper.
Institutional review board statement: Not applicable to this study.
Institutional animal care and use committee statement: This study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Affidavit of Approval of Animal Use Protocol National Cheng Kung University.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
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 which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chih-Yi Chen, MD, PhD, Doctor, Professor, Institute of Medicine, Department of Surgery, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, No.110, Sec.1, Jianguo N. Rd, Taichung 402, Taiwan. cshy1566@csh.org.tw
Telephone: +886-4-24730022 Fax: +886-4-24723229
Received: November 2, 2018
Peer-review started: November 2, 2018
First decision: January 5, 2019
Revised: February 23, 2019
Accepted: February 24, 2019
Article in press: February 25, 2019
Published online: February 27, 2019
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

Formation of intraperitoneal adhesions is one of the major complications after abdominal surgery, and up to 95% of abdominal-pelvic surgery patients developed varying levels of intra-abdominal adhesion.

Research motivation

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a prototypical thrombospondin and an important regulator of platelet aggregation, inflammatory responses, and angiogenesis in wound healing.

Research objectives

The present study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of overexpressed TSP-1 in suppressing pelvic adhesion formations in rat models.

Research methods

Laparoscopic cecal abrasion caused by laparoscopic adhesion in anesthetized rats. Animals were randomized to topical application of Seprafilm (an adhesive bioabsorbable membrane) or an adenoviral vectors encoding mouse TSP-1 (AdTSP-1) to treat damaged cecal surfaces. The severity of peritoneal adhesions was observed blindly after 14 d.

Research results

Compared with the control group (no treatment group), the application of Sperafilm significantly reduced the formation of adhesion bands, and local administration of the injured cecal AdTSP-1 also reduced the severity of the peritoneal adhesion score. However, systemic administration of AdTSP-1 did not affect the formation of adhesions.

Research conclusions

The treatment of local overexpression of TSP-1 can be used as an alternative treatment strategy for prevention of postoperative peritoneal adhesions.

Research perspectives

We did not test the concentration-related response. However, our results indicate that the direct application of TSP-1 is not inferior to Seprafilm. Second, this is a proof-of-concept study that lacks a mechanical survey. Third, the gene delivery system is not a clinically evaluable treatment; our laboratory is also investigating other TSP-1 targeted delivery systems.