Table 3.
Correlations between total (A) and segmental (B-C) transit time and biological parameters.
| Correlations | Neurotransmitters | Serotoninergic pathways | Mucosal inflammation | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| r | p-value | r | p-value | r | p-value | |||||
| A. Total transit time | 1 Right colon | Ach | 0.142 | 0.328 | 5-HT | 0.072 | 0.436 | TNFα | − 0.109 | 0.374 |
| AChE | 0.256 | 0.223 | TPH1 | − 0.4 | 0.099 | IL1-β | − 0.027 | 0.470 | ||
| VIP | − 0.246 | 0.231 | SERT | − 0.301 | 0.183 | |||||
| 2 Left colon | Ach | 0.415 | 0.090 | 5-HT | 0.578 | 0.070 | TNFα | 0.601 | 0.027* | |
| AChE | 0.406 | 0.107 | TPH1 | 0.279 | 0.202 | IL1-β | 0.774 | 0.003** | ||
| VIP | 0.116 | 0.360 | SERT | − 0.584 | 0.031* | |||||
| B. Right colon transit time | Right colon | Ach | 0.111 | 0.364 | 5-HT | 0.036 | 0.469 | TNFα | − 0.023 | 0.476 |
| AChE | 0.301 | 0.183 | TPH1 | − 0.235 | 0.229 | IL1-β | 0.16 | 0.319 | ||
| VIP | − 0.237 | 0.240 | SERT | − 0.142 | 0.338 | |||||
| C. Left colon transit time | Left colon | Ach | 0.418 | 0.088 | 5-HT | 0.643 | 0.048* | TNFα | 0.601 | 0.027* |
| AChE | 0.46 | 0.078 | TPH1 | 0.296 | 0.187 | IL1-β | 0.656 | 0.016* | ||
| VIP | 0.227 | 0.191 | SERT | − 0.492 | 0.063 | |||||
Enteric neurotransmitters [Acetylcholine (ACh) concentration, acetylcholinesterase expression (AChE), Vaso intestinal peptide (VIP) mRNA expression], serotoninergic pathways [Serotonin (5-HT) concentration, Tryptophan hydroxylase 1 (TPH1) mRNA expression, Serotonin transporter (SERT) mRNA expression], and mucosal inflammation [Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFα) and Interleukin -1 beta (IL-1β) mRNA expression], in the right (A1 and B) and left colons (A2 and C) of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients. Spearman’s one-tailed correlations; *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01, n = 13 SCI patients.