Role of adipokines in regulation of colonic motor activity in overweight and obese individuals

The increasing proportion of the population suffering from overweight or obesity is now taking on the character of a pandemic. In the literature, there have begun to appear reports of associations in individuals with impaired colonic motility and a body mass index above 25 kg/m2. The present publication was prepared to systematize data on possible mechanisms of colonic motility disorders in overweight and obese individuals, including through changes in adipokine secretion and function. The literature search was performed in Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar, using the key words ‘colon motility regulation’, ‘adipokines’, ‘gastrointestinal hormones’, ‘intestinal microbiota’, ‘overweight’, ‘obesity’, ‘visceral fat’.

Antibiotic exposure postweaning disrupts the neurochemistry and function of enteric neurons mediating colonic motor activity

The period during and immediately after weaning is an important developmental window when marked shifts in gut microbiota can regulate the maturation of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Because microbiota-derived signals that modulate ENS development are poorly understood, we examined the physiological impact of the broad spectrum of antibiotic, vancomycin-administered postweaning on colonic motility, neurochemistry of enteric neurons, and neuronal excitability. The functional impact of vancomycin on enteric neurons was investigated by Ca2+ imaging in Wnt1-Cre;R26R-GCaMP3 reporter mice to characterize alterations in the submucosal and the myenteric plexus, which contains the neuronal circuitry controlling gut motility. 16S rDNA sequencing of fecal specimens after oral vancomycin demonstrated significant deviations in microbiota abundance, diversity, and community composition. Vancomycin significantly increased the relative family rank abundance of Akkermansiaceae, Lactobacillaceae, and Enterobacteriaceae at the expense of Lachnospiraceae and Bacteroidaceae. In sharp contrast to neonatal vancomycin exposure, microbiota compositional shifts in weaned animals were associated with slower colonic migrating motor complexes (CMMCs) without mucosal serotonin biosynthesis being altered. The slowing of CMMCs is linked to disruptions in the neurochemistry of the underlying enteric circuitry. This included significant reductions in cholinergic and calbindin+ myenteric neurons, neuronal nitric oxide synthase+ submucosal neurons, neurofilament M+ enteric neurons, and increased proportions of cholinergic submucosal neurons. The antibiotic treatment also increased transmission and responsiveness in myenteric and submucosal neurons that may enhance inhibitory motor pathways, leading to slower CMMCs. Differential vancomycin responses during neonatal and weaning periods in mice highlight the developmental-specific impact of antibiotics on colonic enteric circuitry and motility.

EXPERIENCE OF ANGER IN PATIENTS WITH IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME IN ROMANIA

Background and aims. Anger is strongly associated with the coping style, personality, interpersonal conflicts and quality of life. Increased research is being focused on the negative impact of anger on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Certain psychological areas such as anger have not been investigated in Romanian patients. The present study aims to determine the basal differences in experiencing anger between IBS patients and controls.Method. We examined the State-Trait anger in 60 subjects with IBS and 45 controls. The socio-demographic data and the State-Trait Anger Inventory were administered in individual sessions.Results evidenced that the IBS group had high mean scores for trait anger. No significant differences between the groups were detected on state anger.Conclusion. Higher levels of trait anger characterize IBS patients when compared to controls and this may be associated with symptoms. These findings are discussed within the context of other data suggesting that trait anger contributes to development and evolution of IBS, perhaps through modulation of the colonic motor activity.