Novel treatment in peritoneal adhesion prevention: Protection by polypeptides

Objective. To evaluate a novel antiadhesive polypeptide complex containing a combination of poly-L-glutamate and poly-L-lysine in order to study its effectiveness and mechanisms in the prevention of postoperative abdominal adhesions in mice. Material and methods. The length of peritoneal adhesions was measured and expressed in percentage of the wound length in a standardized peritoneal injury model and evaluated 7 days and 4 weeks after adhesion induction. The test compound was administered intraperitoneally following surgery. Peritoneal swabs, including the wound area, were stained in order to determine the peritoneal location and clearance of the polypeptides. Electron microscopy was performed to analyze the wound surface and the ultra-structural changes of the phagocytes in cell culture. Moreover, flow cytometry was used to evaluate the effect on macrophage phagocytic function. Results. The poly-L-lysine and poly-L-glutamate combination significantly decreased peritoneal adhesions both at 7 days’ (p<0....