The existence of a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway negatively modulating the inflammatory and immune responses in various clinical conditions and experimental models has long been postulated. In particular, the protective involvement of the vagus nerve and of nicotinic Ach receptors (nAChRs) has been proposed in intestinal inflammation and repeatedly investigated in DSS- and TNBS-induced ...

BACKGROUND Visceral pain is a common symptom of several gastrointestinal disorders. Despite tremendous progress in understanding its basic mechanisms, it remains a significant health challenge for clinicians. The present study quantified the intensity of visceral pain using ileocecal ligament traction on an inflamed ileum in goats. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 36 male goats weighing 20.05...

BACKGROUND Current treatment of inflammatory bowel disease is based on the use of immunosuppressants or anti-inflammatory drugs, which are characterized by important side effects that can limit their use. Previous research has been performed by administering these drugs as nanoparticles that target the ulcerated intestinal regions and increase their bioavailability. It has been reported that si...

Running title: Persistent alterations in colonic function after colitis. Abstract Functional changes induced by inflammation persist following recovery from the inflammatory response, but the mechanisms underlying these changes are not well understood. Our aim was to investigate whether the excitability and synaptic properties of submucosal neurons remained altered eight weeks post trinitrobenz...

Experimentally induced colitis is used in animals to investigate pathophysiological mechanisms in inflammatory bowel disease. When following disease course and treatment effects, it should be possible to perform repeated measurements without harming the animals. This pilot study was performed to investigate whether transabdominal ultrasound using a clinical scanner could be used on rats to demo...

The role of NO in inflammatory bowel disease is controversial. Studies indicate that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) might be involved in protecting the mucosa against colonic inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in regulating colonic mucosal blood flow in two different colitis models in rats. In anesthetized control and colitic ra...

Vidofludimus (Vido) is a novel oral immunomodulatory drug that inhibits dihydro-orotate dehydrogenase and lymphocyte proliferation in vitro. Vido inhibits interleukin (IL)-17 secretion in vitro independently of effects on lymphocyte proliferation. Our primary goal was to evaluate the in vivo effects of Vido on IL-17 secretion and the parameters of trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced co...

Intestinofugal neurons sense and receive information regarding mechanical distension of the bowel and transmit this information to postganglionic sympathetic neurons in the prevertebral ganglia. Previous studies have demonstrated that trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis is associated with a loss of myenteric neurons that occurs within the first 12 h following the inflammatory i...

Flavonoids are polyphenolic compounds that are widespread in nature, and consumed as part of the human diet in significant amounts. The aim of the present study was to test the intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of apigenin K, a soluble form of apigenin, in two models of rat colitis, namely the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS) model and the dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) model. Apigenin K ...

Prostaglandin E₂ receptor subtype 4 (EP4) agonists are known to reduce intestinal inflammation and enhance epithelium regeneration. We explored the possibility of colonic delivery of an EP4 agonist, 2-[(4-{[2-((1R,2R,3R)-3-hydroxy-2-{(1E,3S)-3-hydroxy-4-[3-(methoxymethyl)phenyl]but-1-enyl}-5-oxocyclopentyl)ethyl]sulfanyl}butanoyl)oxy]ethyl nonanoate (ONO-AE2-724), using poly(lactic-coglycolic a...