[Animal modeling] - Establishment of a functional dyspepsia model in rats with anxiety like gastric hypersensitivity induced by a new sequential stress method

  Objective: To establish an anxiety like gastric hypersensitivity rat model by using a new sequential stress method.

  Methods: The newborn rats were randomly divided into control group and model group, 13 rats in each group. From the second day after birth, the anxiety like gastric hypersensitivity model was established by gastric stimulation, separation of mother and infant, and restraint stress. At the 8th week, elevated cross maze test (EPM), open field test (OF), abdominal muscle retraction test (AWR), electromyography (EMG) and gastric emptying test (GET) were used to evaluate the success of the model. Results The EPM and OF experiments showed that the rats in the model group showed significant anxiety like behavior compared with the control group. The AWR and EMG experiments showed that the sensitivity of the rats in the model group to gastric distension stimulation was also significantly increased (P<0.05, P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two groups in weight change and gastric mucosal inflammatory reaction, which was consistent with the clinical characteristics of functional dyspepsia mainly due to increased gastric sensitivity.

  Conclusion: The new sequential stress method can successfully establish the rat model of anxiety like gastric hypersensitivity.