The role of nitric oxide in an experimental necrotising enterocolitis model

Abstract

Background: Necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) causes a significant  life-threatening gastrointestinal system (GIS) disease with severe mortality and morbidity, particularly in premature infants. Nitric oxide (NO) has many functions in the GIS. Therefore, in the present study, we evaluated the effects of NO in experimentally induced NEC of newborn 1-dayold rats following hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR).
Materials and Methods: Thirty Wistar albino rats (weight, 5¡V8 g) were randomly divided into three groups: group 1 (HR), group 2 (HR + nitroglycerine), and group 3 (control). HR was achieved by placing the rat
in carbon dioxide (CO2) for five minutes at 22^oC, which was followed by five minutes of 100% oxygen. After HR, nitroglycerine was administered for three days at 50 µg/Kg/day. On day 4, the rats were decapitated and the intestines between the duodenum and sigmoid colon were resected and histopathologically examined.
Results: The histopathological fi ndings of groups 1 and 2 were  characteristic of NEC. Intestinal injury in group 1 was signifi cantly more prevalent than that in group 2 (X² = 21.55, P = 0.000). The intestinal injury score in group 3 was signifi cantly lower than that in the other groups (P < 0.05).

Conclusions: NO treatment was effective for treating experimentally induced NEC.

Key words: Hypoxia reoxygenation, necrotising enterocolitis, nitric oxide, premature, rat, treatment