ABDOMINAL-SURGERY INDUCES C-FOS EXPRESSION IN THE NUCLEUS OF THE SOLITARY TRACT IN THE RAT

In a model of abdominal surgery, which consisted of cecal manipulation and induces postoperative ileus in rats, we studied c-fos protein exp ression in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), the spinal cord an d dorsal root ganglia. Abdominal surgery resulted in a significantly h igher number of c-fos protein immunoreactive cells in the NTS compared with controls but not in dorsal root ganglia and resulted in only a f ew scattered cells in the spinal cord. Neurons expressing c-fos protei n were concentrated in NTS regions where cecal afferents terminate. Th ese findings support the hypothesis that sensory vagal pathways partly mediate abdominal surgery-induced postoperative ileus.