Potential of tadalafil and tadalafil-cellulose nanocomposite in preventing postsurgical abdominal adhesions in a rat cecal abrasion model

The formation of postoperative intra-abdominal adhesions is a significant challenge in veterinary practice worldwide. Thus, several attempts have been made to identify agents that prevent the occurrence of these postsurgical adhesions. However, finding an ideal and effective agent remains a challenge. Herein, we investigate the potential of tadalafil and tadalafil/cellulose composite as promising therapeutics for preventing postsurgical intra-abdominal adhesions. A cecal abrasion model was established in 30 rats, which either left untreated or treated with tadalafil, cellulose, or tadalafil/cellulose. After 2 weeks, the adhesion formation was evaluated based on gross appearance, oxidative stress markers, pro-inflammatory cytokines, histopathological analysis, and immunohistochemical staining. Compared to the adhesion group, gross and histopathological findings revealed that both the tadalafil and cellulose groups significantly decreased adhesion formation, with better results observed after tadalafil treatment. Importantly the tadalafil/cellulose treatment completely prevented adhesion formation. Additionally, the treated groups showed reduced levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), while increasing the level of reduced glutathione (GSH) compared to the adhesion group. Furthermore, the treated groups reduced the expression of macrophage markers. These findings suggest that the intra-abdominal application of tadalafil and tadalafil/cellulose following abdominal surgery holds promise as a clinical strategy to prevent postsurgical intra-abdominal adhesions, with tadalafil/cellulose demonstrating superior efficacy.