Publications by authors named "Kent C Sasse"

The main function of the stomach is to digest ingested food. Gastric antrum muscular contractions mix ingested food with digestive enzymes and stomach acid and propel the chyme through the pyloric sphincter at a rate in which the small intestine can process the chyme for optimal nutrient absorption. Mfge8 binding to α8β1 integrins helps regulate gastric emptying by reducing the force of antral smooth muscle contractions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: L-type Ca1.2 channels undergo cooperative gating to regulate cell function, although mechanisms are unclear. This study tests the hypothesis that phosphorylation of the Ca1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Metalloendopeptidase ADAM-Like Decysin 1 (ADAMDEC1) is an anti-inflammatory enzyme mainly found in the gastrointestinal tract, specifically in colonic mucosal PDGFRα cells.
  • Recent findings indicate a high expression of Adamdec1 in these cells during DSS-induced colitis in mouse models, contrasting with minimal expression in macrophages.
  • The prevalence of ADAMDEC1 in PDGFRα cells in both mouse and human Crohn's disease suggests its potential as a target for diagnosing and treating intestinal inflammation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The stomach acts as a buffer between the ingestion of food and its processing in the small intestine. It signals to the brain to modulate food intake and it in turn regulates the passage of a nutrient-rich fluid, containing partly digested food, into the duodenum. These processes need to be finely controlled, for example to restrict reflux into the esophagus and to transfer digesta to the duodenum at an appropriate rate.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The L-type Ca channel Ca1.2 is essential for arterial myocyte excitability, gene expression and contraction. Elevations in extracellular glucose (hyperglycemia) potentiate vascular L-type Ca channel via PKA, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: There is no current consensus on the management of large hiatal hernias concomitant with performance of a sleeve gastrectomy procedure. Proposed solutions have included performing a modified Nissen fundoplication, performing cruroplasty alone, utilizing the Linx device, performing cruroplasty with reinforcement material, and avoiding the sleeve procedure altogether in favor of a bypass procedure in order to minimize gastroesophageal reflux. Urinary bladder matrix (UBM) represents a biologically derived material for use in hiatal hernia repair reinforcement with the potential to improve durability of repair without incurring the risks of other reinforcement materials.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Elevated glucose increases vascular reactivity by promoting L-type Ca1.2 channel (LTCC) activity by protein kinase A (PKA). Yet, how glucose activates PKA is unknown.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Gastric endocrine cell hormones contribute to the control of the stomach and to signalling to the brain. In other gut regions, enteroendocrine cells (EECs) exhibit extensive patterns of colocalisation of hormones. In the current study, we characterise EECs in the human gastric fundus and corpus.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Ingested food is received, mixed, and ground into chyme by distinct gastric motility patterns. Diabetes impairs gastric muscle function, but the mechanisms underlying diabetes-induced gastric muscle dysfunction are unknown. Here, we compared the expression and phosphorylation of Ca sensitization and contractile proteins in human gastric muscles from obese nondiabetic and diabetic patients.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

DNA methylation is a key epigenetic modification that can regulate gene expression. Genomic DNA hypomethylation is commonly found in many gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Dysregulated gene expression in GI smooth muscle cells (GI-SMCs) can lead to motility disorders.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Large-conductance Ca-activated potassium (BK) channels are key determinants of vascular smooth muscle excitability. Impaired BK channel function through remodeling of BK β1 expression and function contributes to vascular complications in animal models of diabetes. Yet, whether similar alterations occur in native vascular smooth muscle from humans with type 2 diabetes is unclear.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRα)+ cells are distributed into distinct morphological groups within the serosal, muscular, and submucosal layers as well as the myenteric and deep muscular plexi. PDGFRα+ cells directly interact with interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) in gastrointestinal smooth muscle tissue. These three cell types, SMC, ICC, and PDGFRα+ cells (SIP cells), form an electrical syncytium, which dynamically regulates gastrointestinal motility.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy is a widely utilized and effective surgical procedure for dramatic weight loss in obese patients. Leak at the sleeve staple line is the most serious complication of this procedure, occurring in 1-3% of cases. Techniques to minimize the risk of sleeve gastrectomy leaks have been published although no universally agreed upon set of techniques exists.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Regulation of colonic motility depends on the integrity of enteric inhibitory neurotransmission mediated by nitric oxide (NO), purine neurotransmitters, and neuropeptides. Intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC-IM) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α-positive (PDGFRα) cells are involved in generating responses to NO and purine neurotransmitters, respectively. Previous studies have suggested a decreased nitrergic and increased purinergic neurotransmission in ( ) mice that display lesions in ICC-IM along the gastrointestinal tract.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Rectal prolapse is often repaired laparoscopically, frequently with the use of reinforcement material. Both synthetic and biologically derived materials reduce recurrence rate compared to primary suture repair. Synthetic mesh introduces potential complications such as mesh erosion, fibrosis, and infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Hypercontractility of arterial myocytes and enhanced vascular tone during diabetes are, in part, attributed to the effects of increased glucose (hyperglycemia) on L-type Ca1.2 channels. In murine arterial myocytes, kinase-dependent mechanisms mediate the increase in Ca1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background And Objectives: Hiatal hernias are repaired laparoscopically with increasing use of reinforcement material. Both synthetic and biologically derived materials reduce the recurrence rate compared to primary crural repair. Synthetic mesh introduces complications, such as mesh erosion, fibrosis, and infection.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Enteric purinergic motor neurotransmission, acting through P2Y1 receptors (P2Y1R), mediates inhibitory neural control of the intestines. Recent studies have shown that NAD(+) and ADP ribose better meet criteria for enteric inhibitory neurotransmitters in colon than ATP or ADP. Here we report that human and murine colon muscles also release uridine adenosine tetraphosphate (Up4A) spontaneously and upon stimulation of enteric neurons.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Repair of ventral hernias, including primary ventral hernias and incisional ventral hernias, is performed in the United States 90,000 times per year. Open or traditional ventral hernia repairs involve the significant morbidity and expense of a laparotomy and a significant risk of recurrent herniation. Laparoscopic ventral hernia repair (LVHR) may offer a less-invasive alternative with shorter length of hospital stay, fewer cardiopulmonary complications, and low recurrence rates.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Complex open pilonidal wounds represent a challenging wound healing problem. Nine cases of complex open pilonidal wounds are described. Each of them was treated at the time of primary wide excision with placement of xenograft extracellular matrix material derived from urinary bladder (MatriStem, ACell Corporation).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Ambulatory surgery or outpatient surgery is becoming increasingly common. In 2002, 63% of all operations performed in the United States were ambulatory procedures. Bariatric procedures performed in the United States have increased from 16,200 in 1992 to approximately 205,000 in 2007.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass for the resolution of morbid obesity have significant medical sequelae related to their weight. One of the most common comorbid conditions is joint pain requiring the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs). In addition to NSAIDs, patients may engage in behaviors such as smoking and alcohol misuse that increase the risk of long-term postoperative complications to include gastric perforation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF