Abstract
Background
Gut damage after trauma/hemorrhagic shock contributes to multiple organ dysfunction
syndrome. Electrical vagal nerve stimulation is known to prevent gut damage in animal
models of trauma/hemorrhagic shock by altering the gut inflammatory response; however,
the effect of vagal nerve stimulation on intestinal blood flow, which is an essential
function of the vagus nerve, is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether vagal
nerve stimulation influences the abdominal vagus nerve activity, intestinal blood
flow, gut injury, and the levels of autonomic neuropeptides.
Methods
Male Sprague Dawley rats were anesthetized, and the cervical and abdominal vagus nerves
were exposed. One pair of bipolar electrodes was attached to the cervical vagus nerve
to stimulate it; another pair of bipolar electrodes were attached to the abdominal
vagus nerve to measure action potentials. The rats underwent trauma/hemorrhagic shock
(with maintenance of mean arterial pressure of 25 mmHg for 30 min) without fluid resuscitation
and received cervical vagal nerve stimulation post-injury. A separate cohort of animals
were subjected to transection of the abdominal vagus nerve (vagotomy) just before
the start of cervical vagal nerve stimulation. Intestinal blood flow was measured
by laser Doppler flowmetry. Gut injury and noradrenaline level in the portal venous
plasma were also assessed.
Results
Vagal nerve stimulation evoked action potentials in the abdominal vagus nerve and
caused a 2-fold increase in intestinal blood flow compared to the shock phase (P < .05). Abdominal vagotomy eliminated the effect of vagal nerve stimulation on intestinal
blood flow (P < .05). Vagal nerve stimulation protected against trauma/hemorrhagic shock -induced
gut injury (P < .05), and circulating noradrenaline levels were decreased after vagal nerve stimulation
(P < .05).
Conclusion
Cervical vagal nerve stimulation evoked abdominal vagal nerve activity and relieved
the trauma/hemorrhagic shock–induced impairment in intestinal blood flow by modulating
the vasoconstriction effect of noradrenaline, which provides new insight into the
protective effect of vagal nerve stimulation.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2019
Accepted:
September 26,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
