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A novel animal model for external anal sphincter insufficiency

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International Journal of Colorectal Disease Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Reliable animal models are essential to evaluate future therapeutic options like cell-based therapies for external anal sphincter insufficiency. The goal of our study was to describe the most reliable model for external sphincter muscle insufficiency by comparing three different methods to create sphincter muscle damage.

Methods

In an experimental animal study, female Lewis rats (200–250 g) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (n = 5, each group). The external sphincter muscle was weakened in the left dorsal quadrant by microsurgical excision, cryosurgery, or electrocoagulation by diathermy. Functional evaluation included in vivo measurements of resting pressure, spontaneous muscle contraction, and contraction in response to electrical stimulation of the afferent nerve at baseline and at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after sphincter injury. Masson’s trichrome staining and immunofluorescence for skeletal muscle markers was performed for morphological analysis.

Results

Peak contraction after electrical stimulation was significantly decreased after sphincter injury in all groups. Contraction forces recovered partially after cryosurgery and electrocoagulation but not after microsurgical excision. Morphological analysis revealed an incomplete destruction of the external sphincter muscle in the cryosurgery and electrocoagulation groups compared to the microsurgery group.

Conclusions

For the first time, three different models of external sphincter muscle insufficiency were directly compared. The animal model using microsurgical sphincter destruction offers the highest level of consistency regarding tissue damage and sphincter insufficiency, and therefore represents the most reliable model to evaluate future therapeutic options. In addition, this study represents a novel model to specifically test the external sphincter muscle function.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Meline Stoelting, Souzan Salemi, and Fatma Kivrak for the introduction in analyzing techniques and for technical assistance. This research project was financially supported by grants from the EMDO foundation and the Insula Foundation, Switzerland.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory for Urologic Tissue Engineering and Stem Cell Therapy, Department of Urology, University Hospital Zürich, Frauenklinikstrasse 10, 8091, Zürich, Switzerland

    Lukas Brügger, Roman Inglin, Tullio Sulser & Daniel Eberli

  2. Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine, Bern University Hospital, University of Bern, Freiburgstrasse 4, 3010, Bern, Switzerland

    Lukas Brügger, Roman Inglin & Daniel Candinas

Authors
  1. Lukas Brügger
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  2. Roman Inglin
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  3. Daniel Candinas
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  4. Tullio Sulser
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  5. Daniel Eberli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lukas Brügger.

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Brügger, L., Inglin, R., Candinas, D. et al. A novel animal model for external anal sphincter insufficiency. Int J Colorectal Dis 29, 1385–1392 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-014-2006-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00384-014-2006-8

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