Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder characterized by abdominal pain and alterations in bowel habits

The interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are basic components of gastrointestinal motility. However, changes in ICC and their role in post-infection irritable bowel syndrome (PI-IBS) remain to be elucidated. To observe the impact of alterations in the ICC on intestinal motility in a PI-IBS mouse model, female C57BL\6 mice were infected by the oral administration of 400 Trichinella spiralis larvae. The abdominal withdrawal reflex, intestine transportation time (ITT), grain numbers, Bristol scores, wet/dry weights and the percentage water content of the mice feces every 2 h were used to assess changes in the intestinal motor function. The intestines were excised and sectioned for pathological and histochemical examination. These intestines were also used to quantify the protein and mRNA expression of c‐kit. The C57BL\6 mouse can act as a PI-IBS model at day 56 post-infection. Compared with the control mice, the ITT was shorter, the grain numbers, Bristol scores, wet weights and water contents of the mice feces were higher and the dry weights were unchanged in the PI‐IBS mice. The protein and mRNA expression levels of c‐kit were upregulated in the entire PI‐IBS mouse intestines. Following immunohistochemical staining, the increased number of c‐kit‐positive cells were detected predominantly in the submucosa and myenteron. These results suggested that the alterations of the ICC resulted in the changes of the intestinal motility patterns in the PI-IBS mouse models induced by Trichinella spiralis infection, which may be the main mechanism underlying intestinal motility disorders in PI-IBS.