Plos One
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Trauma/hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) causes the release of pro-inflammatory mediators into the mesenteric lymph (ML), triggering a systemic inflammatory response and acute lung injury (ALI). Direct and pharmacologic vagal nerve stimulation prevents gut barrier failure and alters the biologic activity of ML after injury. We hypothesize that treatment with a pharmacologic vagal agonist after T/HS would attenuate the biologic activity of ML and prevent ALI. ⋯ Treatment with CPSI-121 after T/HS attenuated the biologic activity of the ML and decreased ALI. Given the superior clinical feasibility of utilizing a pharmacologic approach to vagal nerve stimulation, CPSI-121 is a potential treatment strategy to limit end organ dysfunction after injury.
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Hydrogen sulfide (H2S), produced by the activity of cystathionine-gamma-lyase (CSE), is a key mediator of inflammation in sepsis. The liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are important target and mediator of sepsis. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of CSE-derived H2S on inflammation and LSECs fenestrae in caecal-ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis using CSE KO mice. ⋯ Mice with CSE (an H2S synthesising enzyme) gene deletion are less susceptible to CLP-induced sepsis and associated inflammatory response through ERK1/2-NF-κB p65 pathway as evidenced by reduced inflammation, tissue damage, and LSECs defenestration and gaps formation.
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Vascular neointimal hyperplasia and remodeling arising from local inflammation are characteristic pathogeneses of proliferative cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis and post angioplasty restenosis. The molecular mechanisms behind these pathological processes have not been fully determined. The adipokine chemerin is associated with obesity, metabolism, and control of inflammation. ⋯ We found that circulating chemerin levels increased after carotid balloon injury, and that knockdown of chemerin significantly inhibited the proliferative aspects of vascular smooth muscle cells induced by platelet-derived growth factor-BB and pro-inflammatory chemokines in vitro as well as prohibited carotid neointimal hyperplasia and pro-inflammatory chemokines in vivo after angioplasty. Additionally, inhibition of chemerin down-regulated the expression of several proteins, including phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase 1/2, nuclear factor-kappa B p65, and proliferation cell nuclear antigen. The novel finding of this study is that chemerin stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation and carotid intimal hyperplasia through activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway, which may lead to vascular inflammation and remodeling, and is relevant to proliferative cardiovascular diseases.
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A history of concussion, particularly repeated injury, has been linked to an increased risk for the development of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE is characterized by abnormal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau and deficits in learning and memory. As yet the mechanisms associated with the development of CTE are unknown. ⋯ At 24 hours and 12 weeks post injury, repetitive mTBI animals showed increased tau phosphorylation and microglial activation within the cortex. Increases in APP immunoreactivity were observed in repetitive mTBI animals at 12 weeks indicating long-term changes in axonal integrity. This novel model of repetitive mTBI with its persistent cognitive deficits, neuroinflammation, axonal injury and tau hyperphosphorylation, thus represents a clinically relevant experimental approach to further explore the underlying pathogenesis of CTE.