Fig. 1. Prophylactic administration of etanercept suppresses adhesion formation. (A) Phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), etanercept (50 μg/mouse), or etanercept (100 μg/mouse) was administered subcutaneously on days -2, -1, and the day of cecum cauterization. We evaluated the adhesion scores at day 7 post-operation. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *p<0.05 indicated statistically significant differences. Representative photos of intraabdominal adhesion formations in the PBS (score 5) and etanercept (100 mg/mouse) (score 1) groups are shown. (B) Intestinal specimens around the injured serosa were sampled from mice treated with PBS or 100 mg/mouse etanercept on day 7 after cecum cauterization. We also sampled the cecum of mice on day 7 after sham operation. Sample slices were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (HE) (left panels) or Sirius red (second from left panels). Immunohistochemical staining for a-SMA was performed (second from right panels). Immunofluorescence analysis of a-SMA (green) and podoplanin (red) were performed (right panels). Representative photographs are shown. Three to five mice were used for each experimental group. We performed the experiments three times with similar results.