ABSTRACT
AIM: To develop a novel model of colitis in rats, using a combination of iodoacetamide and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), and to elucidate the pathophysiologic processes implicated in the development of ulcerative colitis (UC). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 158) were inoculated intrarectally on a weekly basis with 4 different combinations: (a) 1% methylcellulose (MC), (b) 100 microL of 6% iodoacetamide (IA) in 1% MC, (c) 200 microL containing 4 x 10(8) colony factor units (CFU) of EPEC, and (d) combined treatment of (IA) followed by bacteria (B) after 2 d. Thirty days post treatment, each of the four groups was divided into two subgroups; the inoculation was stopped for one subgroup and the other subgroup continued with biweekly inoculation until the end of the experiment. Colitis was evaluated by the clinical course of the disease, the macroscopic and microscopic alterations, activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO), and by TNF-alpha gene expression. RESULTS: Findings indicative of UC were seen in the combined treatment (IA + B) as well as the IA continued treatment groups: the animals showed slow rate of increase in body weight, diarrhea, bloody stools, high colonic ulcer score, as well as histological alterations characteristic of UC, with an extensive inflammatory reaction. During the course of the experiment, the MPO activity was consistently elevated and the TNF-alpha gene expression was upregulated compared to the control animals. CONCLUSION: The experimental ulcerative colitis model used in the present study resembles, to a great extent, the human disease. It is reproducible with characteristics indicative of chronicity.
Subject(s)
Colitis, Ulcerative/chemically induced , Colitis, Ulcerative/microbiology , Colon, Descending/drug effects , Colon, Descending/microbiology , Disease Models, Animal , Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli , Iodoacetamide , Animals , Colitis, Ulcerative/metabolism , Colitis, Ulcerative/pathology , Colon, Descending/enzymology , Colon, Descending/pathology , Male , Peroxidase/metabolism , RNA, Messenger/metabolism , Rats , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Reproducibility of Results , Time Factors , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/genetics , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolismABSTRACT
The state of water management in the urban environments in the region was described and evaluated, it was found far from being satisfactory. The assessment of research and research capacities on water management using three samples from various sources indicated weakness in the interdisciplinary coordinated type of research, and the fragmented pieces of water management research missed almost all the social aspects and ignored any role of communities in water management and urbanization planning. Published and disseminated information on water science expertise and institutions in the region uncovered usually inaccurate and confusing data. Examples of wastewater reuse projects in the region were given and seems that the technological side of such water issue is the most active one; a full comprehensive approach to water management is neglected. Common regional approaches to urbanization and water management were discussed, with emphasis on the size of the problem and available funds, Egypt was taken as a study case. The relationship between the URB Program aspects and specific objectives and the existing regional research record and capacity was illustrated; a training programme to enhance the research capacity on water management in the region is proposed (AU)
