13 research outputs found
Assessment of intestinal peristalsis in vitro.
The protocol detailed in this unit is designed to assess intestinal peristaltic motility in the isolated small intestine in vitro and to measure the effects of drugs able to interfere with gut propulsive activity. The procedure is based on Trendelenburg's classic technique, described at the beginning of the 20th century in the isolated guinea pig ileum and, later on, extended to other intestinal preparations from the same animal and other animal species. This unit illustrates the basic procedures for setting up the intestinal preparation, recording peristalsis under nearâphysiologic conditions, and testing the pharmacoâtoxicological effects of drugs and pollutants on the contractile behavior of the gut wall. The protocol allows evaluating the action of drugs affecting sensory and/or motor neurons of the enteric nervous system and how these neurons control the development of the motor program of the gut wall. This model can be exploited to investigate novel compounds undergoing preclinical development and both inhibitors and stimulants of gastrointestinal peristaltic activity, as well as environmental or alimentary pollutants, like xenobiotics and naturallyâoccurring toxins, endowed with noxious activity with regard to digestive functions. Curr. Protoc. Toxicol. 54:21.11.1â21.11.14. © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Assessment of gastrointestinal propulsive activity using three different models of peristalsis in vivo in the mouse
The protocols described in this unit are designed to assess the acute effects of drugs on the
propulsive activity of the gastrointestinal muscles in the conscious mouse. These protocols
are currently applied to investigate the pharmacological activity of novel compounds
undergoing preclinical development and to obtain predictive data needed to advance drugs
into clinical trials. Moreover, these methods could be useful in evaluating the functional
toxicity by environmental or alimentary pollutants, like xenobiotics and naturally occurring
toxins endowed with noxious activity in the control of physiologic peristalsis. The
three models detailedâthe measurement of gastric emptying, ileal transit, and colonic
propulsionâare substantially non-invasive and do not require analgesic pretreatments
or the induction of general anesthesia. In contrast to an in vitro approach, these in vivo
studies provide a unified understanding of drug effects on gut functionality, in particular
when the central nervous system, the extrinsic nerves, or the (neuro)endocrine system
is targeted by the test drugs