Surgical intervention to rescue hirschsprung disease in a rat model

Lincon A. Stamp*, Florian Obermayr, Louise Pontell, Heather M. Young, Dan Xie, David H. Croaker, Zan Min Song, John B. Furness

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    11 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Background/Aims Rats with a spontaneous null mutation in endothelin receptor type B or Ednrb (sl/sl; spotting lethal) lack enteric neurons in the distal bowel and usually die within the first week after birth. This early postnatal lethality limits their use for examining the potential of cell therapy to treat Hirschsprung disease, and for studies of the influence of EDNRB on the mature CNS and vascular systems. Methods We have developed a surgical intervention to prolong the life of the spotting lethal sl/sl rat, in which we perform a colostomy on postnatal (P) day 4-6 rats to avoid the fatal obstruction caused by the lack of colonic enteric neurons. Results The stomas remained patent and functional and the rats matured normally following surgery. Weight gains were comparable between control and Hirschsprung phenotype (sl/sl) rats, which were followed until 4 weeks after surgery (5 weeks old). We confirmed the absence of enteric neurons in the distal colon of rats whose lives were saved by the surgical intervention. Conclusions This study provides a novel approach for studying EDNRB signalling in multiple organ systems in mature rats, including an animal model to study the efficacy of cell therapy to treat Hirschsprung disease.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)552-559
    Number of pages8
    JournalJournal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility
    Volume21
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Surgical intervention to rescue hirschsprung disease in a rat model'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this