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Na+ gradient-dependent Mg2+ transport in smooth muscle cells of guinea pig tenia cecum.

Thin strips of guinea pig tenia cecum were loaded with the Mg2+ indicator furaptra, and the indicator fluorescence signals measured in Ca2+-free condition were converted to cytoplasmic-free Mg2+ concentration ([Mg2+]i). Lowering the extracellular Na+ concentration ([Na+]o) caused a reversible increase in [Mg2+]i, consistent with the inhibition of Na+ gradient-dependent extrusion of cellular Mg2+ (Na+-Mg2+ exchange). Curve-fitting analysis indicated that the relation between [Na+]o and the rate of rise in [Mg2+], had a Hill coefficient of approximately 3, a [Na+]o at the half-maximal rate of rise of approximately 30 mM, and a maximal rate of 0.16 +/- 0.01 microM/s (mean +/- SE, n = 6). Depolarization with 56 mM K+ shifted the curve slightly toward higher [Na+]o without significantly changing the maximal rate, suggesting that the Na+-Mg2+ exchange was inhibited by depolarization. The maximal rate would correspond to a flux of 0.15-0.4 pmol/cm2/s, if cytoplasmic Mg2+ buffering power (defined as the ratio of the changes in total Mg2+ and free Mg2+ concentrations) is assumed to be 2-5. Ouabain (1-5 microM) increased the intracellular Na+ concentration, as assessed with fluorescence of SBFI (sodium-binding benzofuran isophthalate, a Na+ indicator), and elevated [Mg2+]i. In ouabain-treated preparations, removal of extracellular Na+ rapidly increased [Mg2+]i, with an initial rate of rise roughly proportional to the degree of the Mg2+ load, and, probably, to the Na+ load caused by ouabain. The enhanced rate of rise in [Mg2+]i (up to approximately 1 microM/s) could be attributed to the Mg2+ influx as a result of the reversed Na+-Mg2+ exchange. Our results support the presence of a reversible and possibly electrogenic Na+-Mg2+ exchange in the smooth muscle cells of tenia cecum.

Animals↗

Regulation of ion transport by histamine in mouse cecum.

Histamine levels are elevated in inflammatory bowel disease. We investigated the mechanism by which histamine affects electrolyte transport in the mouse cecum. Using the Ussing-chamber voltage clamp technique, histamine was found to cause a transient concentration-dependent increase in short-circuit current, a measure of total ion transport across the epithelial tissue. This increase was not affected by amiloride pretreatment, but was significantly inhibited by bumetanide and completely inhibited when chloride was substituted in the bathing buffer by gluconate. A histamine-induced increase in short-circuit current was also significantly reduced by inhibitors of the cyclooxygenase pathway indicating the involvement of prostaglandin E2 in its action. Prostaglandin E2 levels were increased in histamine treated tissue and this increase was reversed by indomethacin. These data suggest that histamine causes its effect on mouse cecum largely through increasing arachidonic acid metabolism resulting in increased levels of prostaglandins which in turn increase Cl- secretion in the epithelial cells.

Animals↗

Evaluation of the SprayGel adhesion barrier in the rat cecum abrasion and rabbit uterine horn adhesion models.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a new adhesion barrier in the prevention of postoperative adhesion formation. DESIGN: A double-blind controlled study of the efficacy of SprayGel in reducing postoperative adhesion formation in two animal models. SETTING: Animal care facility of a contract testing laboratory. ANIMAL(S): Sixteen Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly allocated into two groups in the cecum abrasion model. Twenty New Zealand white female rabbits were randomly allocated into two groups in the uterine horn abrasion model. INTERVENTION(S): In the rat model, the cecum was abraded with gauze and the abdominal wall was abraded with a scalpel. Treated animals received SprayGel coating on injured surfaces; control animals received no treatment. In the rabbit model, uterine horns were abraded with a scalpel. Treated animals received SprayGel coating on injured surfaces; control animals received no treatment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Postoperative adhesion formation. RESULT(S): In the rat model, SprayGel was found to significantly reduce the incidence of adhesions, which formed in 7 of 8 control rats compared with 1 of 8 treated rats. In the rabbit model, SprayGel was found to significantly reduce both the extent and severity of adhesions. CONCLUSION(S): Application of SprayGel in two animal models reduced formation of postoperative adhesions. Further investigation in large animal and clinical settings is warranted.

Abdominal Muscles↗

Investigations into the location of Treponema hyodysenteriae in the cecum of experimentally infected young broiler chicks by light- and electronmicroscopy.

Numerous Treponema hyodysenteriae were present both on the mucosal surface and in the deep crypts of the cecum of young broiler chicks 7 and 14 days after inoculation with the treponemes. The treponemes in the ceca of chicks inoculated with 10(8) cells were observed more frequently than those of chicks inoculated with 10(7) cells. The treponemes in the ceca were observed by light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The lesions were primarily confined to the cecum. Desquamation of epithelial cells, edema, leukocytic infiltration and hemorrhage were observed in the mucosae.

Animals↗

Diseases and surgery of the cecum.

The cecum is an important site of water and electrolyte absorption, as well as microbial digestion of soluble and insoluble carbohydrates. These functions of the cecum and ascending colon require that ingesta be mixed constantly and retained long enough to complete the digestion of cellulose. Parasites, changes in regional blood flow, diet, and various pharmacologic agents are associated with alterations in normal cecal motility patterns.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

Cis elements of the villin gene control expression in restricted domains of the vertical (crypt) and horizontal (duodenum, cecum) axes of the intestine.

Villin, an actin bundling protein found in the apical brush border of absorptive tissues, is one of the first structural genes to be transcriptionally activated in the embryonic intestinal endoderm. In the adult, villin is broadly expressed in every cell of the intestinal epithelium on both the vertical axis (crypt to villus tip) and the horizontal axis (duodenum through colon) of the intestine. Here, we document that a 12.4-kilobase region of the mouse villin gene drives high level expression of two different reporter genes (LacZ and Cre recombinase) within the entire intestinal epithelium of transgenic mice. Deletion of a portion of this transgene results in reduction of beta-galactosidase activity in restricted domains of the small intestine (duodenum) and large intestine (cecum). In addition, expression is reduced in the crypt compartment throughout the intestine. Thus, the global expression pattern of villin in the intestine is apparently the consequence of an amalgam of distinct and individual domain-specific control processes. That is, expression of villin in the duodenum and cecum requires different regulatory sequences than the rest of the intestine, and the expression of villin in crypts is regulated by different circuitry than expression of villin on villus tips.

Animals↗

The anaerobic bacterial flora of the mouse cecum.

Refinements of the anaerobic technique such as the utilization of prereduced media and the removal of traces of oxygen from the gases used by passage through a hot copper oven resulted in quantitative and qualitative improvements in the recovery of anaerobic bacteria from the cecum of SPF mice. The commonest morphologic types of bacteria in the mouse cecum were tapered rods. These characteristically gave "speckled" colonies on agar plates. Those identified were species of the genera Fusobacterium, Eubacterium, and Clostridium. Several of the morphologic types seen with phase microscopy still could not be cultivated. The implications of these findings for the study of the intestinal flora are discussed.

Air↗

Effects of diets containing dried whey on the lactase activity of the small intestinal mucosa and the contents of the small intestine and cecum of the pig.

Two studies were conducted to establish the effects of dietary lactose supplied from dried whey on the lactase activity in the contents of the small intestine and cecum as well as the mucosa of the small intestine. In the first study, feeding 0, 10, 25, or 40% dried whey for 120 days did not alter the mucosal lactase specific activity (mumoles galactose released/mg protein) in the duodenum, upper jejunum, or lower ileum. In the second study, total lactase activity in the small intestine was estimated from the total activity found in 10-cm segments of each meter of small intestine. Feeding a diet containing 40% whey continuously from weaning at 5 weeks of age or from 12 weeks of age did not alter the total lactase activity of pigs killed at 21 weeks of age. Dietary lactose tended to increase the lactase activity in the contents of the cecum and small intestine, but the increases were not always statistically significant. In the second study, Chester White pigs had approximately threefold greater mucosal lactase activities than that of Hampshires. These two breeds may be suitable models for detailed studies into the relationships between lactase deficiency and lactose intolerance.

Animals↗

Estimation of the potential digestibility and rate of degradation of water-insoluble dietary fiber in the pig cecum with a modified nylon bag technique.

Potential digestibility and rate of degradation of water-insoluble material (WIM) prepared from rutabaga, wheat bran and digesta recovered from the terminal ileum of pigs fed bran- or rutabaga-based diets were measured in the cecum of surgically modified pigs. WIM samples recovered from the cecum after fixed incubation times were analyzed and the rate of total disappearance of organic matter, cellulose, uronic acid and noncellulosic neutral sugars was calculated. Maximum degradation of each WIM occurred within 48 h after incubation and was for rutabaga and its ileal digesta 90 and 70%, respectively, and for bran and bran ileal digesta 55 and 45%, respectively. Cellulose and uronic acid in bran samples did not appear to be degraded, material disappearance being attributable to the loss of noncellulosic neutral sugars. Estimation of potential organic matter digestibility showed rutabaga to be 93%, rutabaga digesta 79%, bran 56% and bran digesta 43% digestible. Fractional rates of digestion in rutabaga samples were significantly faster than in corresponding bran samples. When related to the role of fiber in nutrition the results obtained suggest that cereal fiber would be only slightly modified during gut transit, unlike vegetable fiber in which microbial digestion would probably result in the total destruction of the fiber cell wall matrix.

Animals↗

Effects of feeding fermentable carbohydrates on the cecal concentrations of minerals and their fluxes between the cecum and blood plasma in the rat.

This study was conducted to determine in rats to what extent fermentable carbohydrates alter the mineral composition of cecal contents and the absorption of the major cations. The carbohydrates studied were as follows: an oligosaccharide (lactulose, 10%); a soluble fiber (pectin, 10%); and an amylose-rich starch, incompletely broken down in the small intestine (amylomaize starch, 25 or 50%). All of these carbohydrates elicited a marked enlargement of the cecum, a drop of cecal pH and an increase in the volatile fatty acids (VFA) pool. With the lactulose diet, the VFA concentration was the lowest, whereas VFA absorption was similar to that observed with the 10% pectin or 25% amylomaize diets. From comparisons between germfree and conventional rats adapted to a fiber-free diet, it appears that VFA are required as counter anions to maintain high concentrations of cations, especially sodium. In conventional rats fed fermentable carbohydrates, sodium concentration in the cecal fluid was approximately 80 mM, except with the lactulose diet (49.5 mM), due to osmotic effects of lactulose. There was, compared to the fiber-free diet, an increase in the cecal concentrations of potassium, calcium and phosphate, but not of magnesium; nevertheless, the cecal pool of all of these minerals was considerably increased. Potassium absorption was increased by fermentable carbohydrates in the cecum, which also appears to be a major site of magnesium and calcium absorption. Thus, fermentable carbohydrates shift aborally the absorption of the major cations, and this point is especially interesting in regard to calcium, since an enhanced supply of calcium in the large bowel has been invoked for fiber effects on colonic carcinogenesis.

Animals↗

The cecum and dietary short-chain fructooligosaccharides are involved in preventing postgastrectomy anemia in rats.

Dietary short-chain fructooligosaccharides (Sc-FOS) stimulate absorption of calcium and magnesium in the large intestine of rats. In this study, we examined whether Sc-FOS stimulate iron absorption in the large intestine by monitoring recovery from anemia in gastrectomized rats, with or without cecectomy. The rats were divided into four groups, i.e., sham-operated (Sham), gastrectomized only (GX), cecectomized only (CX) and both gastrectomized and cecectomized (GCX). Half of the rats in each group were fed a control diet (AIN-93G) and the other half were fed a Sc-FOS-containing diet (75 g/kg diet) for 28 d. Hematocrit (Ht) and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) were measured at the start, and on d 14 and 28 after the start of feeding. On the final day of the study, total blood was collected. Gastrectomy significantly decreased Ht and Hb, but cecectomy did not influence these variables. Dietary Sc-FOS prevented the decrease in Ht and Hb significantly. In the gastrectomized rats, the effectiveness of Sc-FOS in preventing postgastrectomy anemia was significantly diminished by cecectomy. These results suggest that the effect of Sc-FOS in increasing absorption of iron in gastrectomized rats takes place in part in the cecum. The cecum plays an important role in the mechanism by which Sc-FOS prevent postgastrectomy anemia.

Analysis of Variance↗

Evidence for absorption of ionic calcium and soluble calcium complexes by the duodenum and cecum in the rat.

The absorption of dietary calcium (Ca) may in part be determined by the formation in the intestinal lumen of soluble Ca complexes and insoluble Ca salts. This study was undertaken to test the assumption that ionic Ca concentration (Ca2+) is the only species of Ca that is available for absorption. Bidirectional steady-state Ca fluxes were measured in vitro under short-circuit conditions across segments of the proximal duodenum and the cecum in the presence and absence of varying concentrations of soluble Ca citrate complexes. The presence of 5.0 mmol/L medium citrate reduced medium Ca2+ and cecal Ca mucosal-to-serosal fluxes (Jms) (29 +/- 18 versus 108 +/- 7 nmol Ca/cm2/h, P <.001), but did not reduce duodenal Ca Jms (31 +/- 5 versus 23 +/- 9, P not significant). Duodenal Ca Jms increased 106% as medium Ca citrate complex increased to 1.018 mmol/L and Ca2+ remained constant; cecal Jms increased by 48% under the same conditions. The formation of soluble Ca organic anion complexes with lactate, malate, and fumarate reduced medium Ca2+ and cecal Ca Jms decreased with the reduction of medium Ca2+. The results of this study indicate that Ca2+ is the form of Ca most readily absorbed by the small intestine and the colon. Soluble Ca citrate complexes are absorbed by the duodenum and, to a much lesser extent, by the cecum. The reduction of Ca Jms by citrate is caused by the reduction of medium Ca2+ through formation of Ca citrate complexes and not caused by a direct interaction of the anion with the intestinal epithelium.

Animals↗

Colic motor complex of the cecum and proximal loop of the ascending colon observed in an experimental cow with large intestinal obstruction.

Myoelectric activity of the cecum and proximal loop of the ascending colon (PLAC) and the effect of xylazine on motility of this intestinal segment in an experimental cow with large intestinal obstruction are described and compared with the normal motility pattern. During obstruction, three major observations were made in the prestenotic area. (i) Mean spike duration, overall duration of spiking activity (expressed as percentage of total recording time), number of spikes propagated from the cecum towards the obstruction site, and velocity of propagated spikes were substantially increased. (ii) The spike frequency was in the physiologic range. (iii) A single injection of xylazine, administered intravenously at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg markedly reduced the mean spike duration, the overall spiking activity, and the number of propagated spike sequences, and abolished signs of abdominal discomfort. Our data indicate that obstruction of the bovine colon causes a similar pattern of prestenotic hypermotility (colic motor complex) as described for the small intestine of the horse. Xylazine may be a suitable drug to disrupt prestenotic hypermotility and alleviate abdominal discomfort during proximal colonic obstruction in cattle.

Animals↗

Characteristics of Bacteroides isolates from the cecum of conventional mice.

Bacteroides isolates from the cecum of conventional mice were characterized and grouped according to their ability to ferment or hydrolyze carbohydrates and other compounds believed to be present in the intestinal ecosystem. The isolates were divided into 11 groups on the basis of the fermentation of glucose, cellobiose, gum arabic and xylan (hemicelluloses), N-acetylglucosamine, and dextrin; the hydrolysis of starch and casein (proteolysis); and the production of indole. Stock cultures of B. fragilis, B. distasonis, B. ovatus, B. vulgatus, and B. ruminicola were characterized in the same way. The strains isolated most frequently from the mouse cecum resembled B. fragilis (except that arabinose was fermented) and B. thetaiotaomicron.

Animals↗

Initiation of protein synthesis by a labeled derivative of the Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 strain during transit from the stomach to the cecum in mice harboring human microbiota.

Although studies on the survival of bacteria in the digestive tract have been reported in the literature, little data are available on the physiological adaptation of probiotics to the digestive environment. In previous work, a transcriptional fusion system (i.e., luciferase genes under the control of a deregulated promoter) was used to demonstrate that a derivative of the Lactobacillus casei DN-114 001 strain, ingested in a fermented milk and thus exhibiting initially a very weak metabolic activity, synthesized proteins de novo after its transit in the digestive tract of mice harboring human microbiota (known as human-microbiota-associated mice). With the same genetic system and animal model, we here investigate for the first time the ability of L. casei to reinitiate synthesis in the different digestive tract compartments. In this study, most ingested L. casei cells transited from the stomach to the duodenum-jejunum within 1 h postingestion. No luciferase activity was observed in these digestive tract compartments after the first hour. At later times, the bulk of bacteria had transited to the ileum and the cecum. Luciferase synthesis was detected between 1.5 and 2.0 h postingestion at the ileal level and from 1.5 h to at least 6.0 h postingestion in the cecum, where the activity remained at a maximum level. These results demonstrate that ingested L. casei (derivative of the DN-114 001 strain) administered via a fermented milk has already reinitiated protein synthesis when it reaches the ileal and cecal compartments.

Animals↗

Isolation of anaerobic bacteria from human gingiva and mouse cecum by means of a simplified glove box procedure.

An anaerobic glove box constructed of clear flexible vinyl plastic is described. It is sufficiently inexpensive and simple in operation to be used not only in research but also in a clinical laboratory by technicians without special training. Conventional bacteriological techniques may be used inside the glove box for culturing and transferring anaerobic bacteria. The box may be heated to 37 C and thus serve as an anaerobic incubator as well, permitting inspection of cultures at any time. Media may be prepared and agar plates may be poured on the laboratory bench in the conventional manner. An overlay of trace amounts of palladium black catalyst over plated agar media reduces the medium to an oxidation-reduction (O-R) potential of - 300 mv within 2 days after introduction into the glove box. In spite of its greater simplicity, the system matched or excelled the roll tube method with respect to all parameters tested, including O-R potential obtainable in the media, O(2) concentration in the gas phase, and efficiency in isolating anaerobic bacteria from the mouse cecum. Comparative studies indicate that the conventional anaerobic jar method was inadequate for the isolation of strict anaerobes from human gingival specimens and from the mouse cecum. This was due to the exposure of specimens and media to air during plating on the open laboratory bench. Anaerobic jars were adequate for maintaining the proper conditions for growth of anaerobic bacteria once these had been established in the glove box.

Animals↗

Prevention of adhesion by indigenous bacteria to rabbit cecum epithelium by a barrier of microvesicles.

None of 74 strains of anaerobic bacteria cultured from the mucosal epithelial interface of the rabbit cecum adhered to isolated brush borders in experiments in which enteropathogenic Escherichia coli RDEC-1 was used as an adherent control. Scanning electron microscopy of the surfaces of the cecal epithelia confirmed that few organisms were in contact with the villus surface, but transmission electron microscopy revealed a layer of microvesicles up to 50 nm in diameter between the microvilli and mucous gel. The evidence indicates that there is no significant epithelium-adherent flora in the cecum but that a microvesicular layer could contribute significantly to prevention of adherence by both normal and potentially pathogenic bacteria.

Animals↗