In vivo expression of thrombospondin-1 suppresses the formation of peritoneal adhesion in rats

BACKGROUND: Formation of intraperitoneal adhesions is one of the major complications after abdominal surgery, which may lead to bowel obstruction. Thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) is an extracellular matrix modulating glycoprotein during tissue regeneration and collagen deposition. AIM: To evaluated the therapeutic potential of overexpressed TSP-1 in suppressing pelvic adhesion formations in rat models. METHODS: Pelvic adhesion was induced in anesthetized rats by laparotomy cecal abrasion. The animals were randomly assigned to treatment of local application with Seprafilm (an antiadhesive bioresorbable membrane) or adenoviral vectors encoding mouse TSP-1 (AdTSP-1) on the surfaces of the injured cecum. The severity of the peritoneal adhesions was evaluated by blinded observers 14 d later. RESULTS: Compared with control (no treatment) group, the application of Sperafilm significantly reduced the formation of adhesion band, and local administration of AdTSP-1 on the injured cecum the also attenuated the severity of peritoneal adhesion score. However, systemic delivery of AdTSP-1 did not affect the formation of adhesion. CONCLUSION: We conclude that therapeutic approaches in inducing regional overexpression of TSP-1 may serve as alternative treatment strategies for preventing postoperative peritoneal adhesion.