The gut is not only the target but a source of inflammatory mediators inhibiting gastrointestinal motility during sepsis.

BACKGROUND Sepsis is a common problem in intensive care patients leading to multi-organ failure and gastrointestinal paralysis. AIM The aim of the study was to investigate whether the gastrointestinal tract is not only the target but also the source of inflammatory mediators inhibiting gastrointestinal motility. METHODS Mesenteric lymph was obtained from rats in which a sepsis was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneally. Gastrointestinal motility was recorded following mesenteric lymph- or TNFα infusion into the jugular vein of separate healthy recipient rats using the strain gauge transducer technique. RESULTS Infusion of sepsis lymph significantly impairs gastric and colonic motility, decreasing the motility-index in the stomach and colon by about 57% and 21% respectively in comparison to baseline motility. Among other inflammatory mediators, TNFα plays an important role in mediating the inhibitory effect of mesenteric lymph on gastrointestinal motility during sepsis. CONCLUSIONS The gastrointestinal tract is the source and the target of inflammatory mediators released during sepsis causing paralytic ileus.