ABSTRACT
To study whether ischemic preconditioning (IPC) attenuated intestinal dysfunction caused by ischemia (I) and reperfusion (R), rats were underwent 60 minutes of I which was produced by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery, and/or 120 minutes R. The IPC group had the I procedure previously stimulated for 5 minutes and the R for 10 minutes. IPC and sham groups were injected with saline solution (SS) via the femoral vein 5 minutes before the I and R, and for R. After I or I/R, 2-cm jejunal segments were mounted in an organ bath to study neurogenic contractions stimulated by electrical pulses or KCl using a digital recording system. Thin jejunal slices were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for optical microscopy. Compared with the sham group, jejunal contractions were similar in the IPC + I and the IPC + I/R groups, but reduced in the I + SS and the I/R + SS groups. The jejunal enteric nerves were damaged in the I + SS and the I/R + SS groups, but not in the IPC groups. These results suggested that ischemic preconditioning attenuated intestinal dysfunction caused by I and I/R.
