PVA enema ameliorates DSS-induced acute colitis in mice

Abstract

Background Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution is a biodegradable polymer material with the main component of glue. PVA can now be used in the medical field. Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a clinically intractable disease with persistent damage to the colonic epithelial mucosa as the main pathological change. The research aims to explore the therapeutic effect of PVA water solution on UC in mice. Methods The UC model was induced by dextran sulfate sodium, and the therapeutic effects of different concentrations of PVA water solution on the model mice were observed. Besides the changes in mouse body weight, clinical disease activity index, and colon length were recorded. Histopathological examination staining and inflammatory factors levels were used to evaluate the degree of colonic tissue damage and inflammation. Furthermore, mouse colon organoids were cultured, which were used to assess the effects of different concentrations of PVA aqueous solution on the number of organoids in vitro. Results We reported that treatment with PVA aqueous solution (1 mg/ml and 3 mg/ml) can significantly alleviate the weight loss of the colitis group, and dramatically improve histopathology scores, meanwhile the levels of inflammatory factors in intestinal mucosal tissue were decreased. It was also confirmed that PVA could greatly increase the number of colonic organoids in vitro. Conclusions In summary, PVA can relieve tissue damage and clinical symptoms of ulcerative colitis. We infer that the underlying mechanism may be related to promoting intestinal stem cell proliferation by PVA, which might in turn promote the repair of intestinal mucosal damage. This study might provide a new candidate for the clinical treatment of ulcerative colitis.