Evaluation of the xenobiotic reaction against hyaluronate-based bioresorbable membrane in the abdominal cavity

Postoperative abdominal adhesions are one of the most common post-laparotomy complications observed. Several types of adhesion preventative agents are available and their effectiveness and adverse impact have been clinically evaluated in previous studies. However, few basic studies have tested whether those agents do not trigger any unwanted xenobiotic reaction, which makes some surgeons hesitant to use them. To clarify this point, we investigated whether the adhesion preventative agent Seprafilm® (KAKEN PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD., Tokyo, Japan), one of the most widely used hyaluronate-based bioresorbable membrane (HBBM), can trigger an inflammatory response in normal abdominal tissue and delay the healing process. The rat underwent laparotomy and a HBBM was placed directly below the incision. Tissue samples at the incision and away from the incision (normal tissue) were harvested and inflammatory response and fibrosis were evaluated using quantitative PCR and histological scoring. We found that HBBM did not induce inflammatory cytokine expression at mRNA level in the peritoneal wall tissue or modify the fibrosis process in the abdominal cavity. These findings confirm the safety of using HBBM for the prevention of adhesion development post-laparotomy.