To Örebro University

BACKGROUND: Anastomotic leakage is the most serious and unwelcome complication in rectal surgery. It has a great impact on postoperative morbidity and mortality. In this pilot study, changes of mRNA expression in blood were analyzed in an animal model designed to imitate anastomotic leakage.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve pigs were randomized into two groups: A sham-operated control group and an experimental group in which iatrogenic rectal perforation was performed. The changes in the mRNA expression at 4 hours after creating the perforation were studied. Microarray analysis was performed using Gene Chip whole porcine genome array. mRNA expression of 19,124 genes was investigated.

RESULTS: Significantly increased levels of genes with a fold change greater than 2 were found, including 276 coding for unknown proteins and 48 coding for known proteins. Eleven of those which coded for known proteins were up-regulated with a fold change >4.

CONCLUSION: Eleven known genes were highly up-regulated after rectal perforation. These genes were mainly involved in inflammatory response, intracellular signaling and cell membrane regulation. Their corresponding proteins might potentially be clinical biomarkers of anastomotic leakage and should be evaluated in further clinical studies.