Pulmonary microcirculation in mild and severe experimental pancreatitis.
BACKGROUND
Research aimed at elucidating the pathogenesis of pancreatitis-associated lung injury and evaluating novel strategies for preventing respiratory complications in acute pancreatitis (AP) has not yet involved intravital microscopic (IVM) studies of pulmonary microcirculation in animals with severe disease.


OBJECTIVE
To characterize and compare pulmonary microcirculation in severe/necrotizing (NP) and mild/edematous pancreatitis (EP) in the rat.


METHODS
EP was induced by intravenous cerulein infusion (n = 10) and NP by a standardized intraductal infusion of glycodeoxycholic acid followed by intravenous cerulein (n = 10). After 24 h a left-sided thoracotomy was performed for IVM examination of pulmonary capillary blood flow, permeability, leukocyte sticking and the thickness of alveolar septi. Further measurements included monitoring of arterial blood gases and histological evaluation of lung injury.


RESULTS
In animals with NP, histology revealed severe pulmonary edema together with clustering of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in pulmonary microvessels and alveoli. IVM showed a greater number (n) of leukocytes sticking on the endothelium of pulmonary capillaries (9.4 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.8 +/- 0.2 in healthy control animals) and increased capillary permeability (260 +/- 14 vs. 136 +/- 6% relative fluorescein intensity) while capillary blood flow was decreased (0.41 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.57 +/- 0.03 mm/s). In comparison, changes in EP were significantly less pronounced (flow 0.5 +/- 0.04 mm/s, permeability 156 +/- 4%, leukocyte sticking n = 4.6 +/- 0.7).


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that deterioration of pulmonary microcirculation in AP correlates with disease severity and that a model featuring NP may therefore be more suitable to further study pancreatitis-associated pulmonary injury.
Kahrau
S
S
Department of Surgery, Benjamin Franklin Medical Center, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Schneider
P
P
Loddenkemper
C
C
Buhr
H J
HJ
Foitzik
T
T
D000818:Animals; D001784:Blood Gas Analysis; D004487:Edema / Q000209:etiology; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019283:Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011652:Pulmonary Circulation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012119:Respiration; D012720:Severity of Illness Index