title: Influence of sex and age on morphological organ damage after hemorrhagic shock.
abstract: Immune function after hemorrhagic shock (shock) and subsequent sepsis is proofed to be sex- and age-related, showing an enhanced immune function and better survival of young females and a deteriorating immune response in advanced age. However, it remains unclear if the observed sex- and age-related effects observed on the immune function mirror the histomorphological changes of the affected organs. To scrutinize a possible association, male and female CBA/J mice (young, 2-3 months; aged 18-19 months) were subjected to shock (35 + 5 mmHg for 90 min and fluid resuscitation) or sham operation. At 48 h after shock, histological specimen at definite sites were harvested (lung, small bowel, liver, and kidney) and immediately stored in 10% formalin. After paraffin embedding, hematoxylin-eosin stain and immunohistochemical stains (vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 [VCAM-1], cluster of differentiation 44 [CD44], signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 [STAT-3]) were performed. In both sexes, aged animals developed significantly increased (P < 0.05) tissue damage in all analyzed organs compared with young mice. Sex differences were noticed in the lungs of young mice, showing a significantly (P < 0.05) lower organ damage score in female animals. Sex-related differences were found for VCAM-1 and cluster of differentiation 44 expression, whereas age-related changes were observed for STAT-3. These results demonstrate that the severity of tissue damage caused by hemorrhagic shock is influenced by sex- and age-related effects. Variances in the VCAM-1 and STAT-3 expression suggest that improved immune function in female and young subjects may be responsible for less shock-induced tissue damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University of Muenster, Muenster, Germany. soerentorge.mees@ukmuenster.de
authors.forename: Soeren Torge
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Mees
authors.forename: Maike
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gwinner
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Fred
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faendrich
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Joerg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haier
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kahlke
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor / Q000276:immunology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D012771:Shock, Hemorrhagic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: C476399:Cd44 protein, mouse; D018960:Hyaluronan Receptors; D050796:STAT3 Transcription Factor; C494087:Stat3 protein, mouse; D019010:Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1