Immune/inflammatory consequences of ischemia and reperfusion injury in the intestine

• Grant number: 10/12885-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: January 03, 2011
• End date: February 16, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Anatomy
• Principal Investigator: Patricia Castelucci
• Grantee: Patricia Castelucci
• Host Investigator: John B. Furness
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) damage to the intestine occurs following shock, sepsis, vascular surgery, strangulation ileus, embolism, intestinal obstruction, necrotising enterocolitis and small intestine transplantation (Wedel et al. 1998; Mallick et al. 2004). Ischemic events are also associated with inflammatory bowel disease, and may precede disease development (Thornton and Solomon 2002). Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury that occurs during intestinal transplantation is particularly relevant because small intestinal transplantation is increasingly common and has become a treatment of choice for patients with short bowel syndrome, who are on total parenteral nutrition and who have developed life-threatening complications (Yamamoto et al. 2001; Türler et al. 2002; Fryer 2005). The plans are investigate the nature of the immune / inflammatory response induced by I/R in the distal small intestine of mice by quantifying the changes in numbers and locations of neutrophils, eosinophils, T-cell subtypes, mast cells and macrophages. Compare the I/R region with a more proximal region. Also compare with just handling the intestine. Investigate the time course of inflammatory reactions. This will be very important for an understanding of the reaction to I/R. At some future time, we would like to see how the reaction to I/R in the model that we have established compares to what occurs with intestinal autotransplantation. (AU)