Value of mink vomit model in study of anti-emetic drugs

AIM： To establish a new, reliable vomit model of minks METHODS： Adult male minks were randomly divided into 8 groups （n=6）： cisplatin （7.5 mg/kg） intraperitoneal injection （ip） group, copper sulfate （40 mg/kg） intragastric injection （ig） group, apomorphine （1.6 mg/kg） subcutaneous injection （sc） group, and 18 Gy whole-body X-irradiation group, ondansetron injection group （2 mg/kg ip） 30 min later followed by cisplatin （7.5 mg/kg） ip, normal saline （NS） ip injection control group, metoclopramide injection group （4 mg/kg ip） 30 rain later followed by apomorphine （1.6 mg/kg） sc, NS ig control group. The frequency of retching and vomiting was calculated. After behavioral experiment, distribution of 5-HT in the ileum was detected by immunohistologic method. RESULTS： Cisplatin, apomorphine, copper sulfate and X-irradiation administered to minks evoked a profound emetic response in the animals. However, retching and vomiting were significantly inhibited by pretreatment with ondansetron and metoclopramide in cisplatin and copper sulfate groups （P=0.018）. Immunohistologic result showed that 5-HT released from enterochromaffin cells （EC cells） was involved in vomiting mechanism. CONCLUSION： Mink vomit model has a great value in studying the vomiting mechanism and screening new antiemetic drugs.