Effects of Ghrelin on the Oxidative Stress and Healing of the Colonic Anastomosis in Rats

Abstract Background Anastomotic leakage is the deadliest complication of colonic procedures. Ghrelin is an orexigenic hormone with potent actions on growth hormone release and functions in the processes of growth, tissue inflammation, repair, and oxidative stress. We evaluated the hypothesis that the exogenous administration of ghrelin causes beneficial effects on the healing of colonic anastomosis. Materials and methods Sixty-four male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to eight subgroups receiving postoperative intraperitoneal administration of ghrelin (23 μg/kg/d) or saline after a colonic anastomosis. The anastomotic tissue was evaluated on the third, seventh, and 14th postoperative days. Anastomotic bursting pressure, histological parameters, hydroxyproline content, and tissue oxidative stress markers were compared. Results There was a significant increase in the mean anastomotic bursting pressure in the ghrelin subgroup on the seventh postoperative day ( P  = 0.035). Histological evaluation demonstrated a significant difference in the neutrophilic infiltrate ( P  = 0.035) on the third and 14th d and in apoptosis ( P  = 0.004), granulation tissue ( P  = 0.011) and peritoneal inflammation ( P  = 0.014) on the 14th postoperative day. There was a statistically significant increase in the hydroxyproline content in the ghrelin subgroup on the 14th postoperative day ( P  = 0.043). There were significant differences in the nitrite tissue levels ( P  = 0.021) on day 3 and in reactive oxygen species ( P  = 0.012) on day 14. Conclusions The administration of ghrelin had beneficial anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, increasing the resistance of the anastomosis and the hydroxyproline tissue content in the postoperative period.