Published online Feb 21, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i7.576
Peer-review started: October 27, 2020
First decision: December 13, 2020
Revised: December 24, 2020
Accepted: January 13, 2021
Article in press: January 13, 2021
Published online: February 21, 2021
The Chinese medicine Xiangbinfang granule (XBF) is an effective prescribed treatment for promoting the recovery of gastrointestinal (GI) function post-surgery. In previous studies, we found that XBF mediated the phase III contraction of migrating motor complexes (MMC). However, the mechanism of XBF in enhancing MMC activity in the GI tract is still unclear.
In this study, we observed the MMC activity of gastric antrum in W/Wv mice that lack intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC-IM) and analyzed the effect of the traditional Chinese medicine XBF in promoting gastric antrum movement. From this study, we will further understand the role of ICC-IM in MMC activities. Meanwhile, the mechanism of XBF promoting gastrointestinal motility through ICC-IM was discussed, so as to provide the basis for the development and application of XBF.
W/Wv mice were used to observe the effects of ICC-IM on gastric antrum motility and to establish the mechanism of XBF in promoting gastric antrum motility. We further investigated the correlation between ICC-IM and MMC in mouse gastric antrum.
The density of c-kit positive ICC myenteric plexus and ICC-IM in the antral muscularis of W/Wv and wild-type (WT) mice was examined by confocal microscopy. The effects of XBF on the gastric antrum slow waves in W/Wv and WT mice were recorded by intracellular amplification recording. The micro-strain-gauge force transducers were implanted into the gastric antrum to monitor the MMC and the effect of XBF on gastric antrum motility in conscious W/Wv and WT mice.
In the gastric antrum of W/Wv mice, no ICC-IM network was observed. Spontaneous rhythmic slow waves with the low amplitude also appeared in the antrum of W/Wv mice. In this study, we found that the duration of MMC phase III was 151.08 ± 8.87 s, the amplitude was 315.45 ± 5.55 mg, and the interval between MMCs was 10.75 ± 0.61 min in the gastric antrum of WT mice. There was no complete MMC cycle in W/Wv gastric antrum lacking ICC-IM. The gastric antrum motility in WT and W/Wv antrum was significantly increased after treatment with XBF. Atropine blocked the enhancement of XBF completely, while tetrodotoxin partially inhibited the enhancement of XBF.
In this study, we first examined the gastrointestinal motility of W-mutant mice by an extraluminal strain-gauge force transducer method. It showed that ICC-IM plays an important role in the regulation of gastric antrum MMC.
In this study, MMC were recorded only at a single site in the gastric antrum. It was impossible to describe the propulsion of gastrointestinal movement. Therefore, recording at multiple gastrointestinal sites is important to further clarify the motility of gastrointestinal MMC in mice.