Effect of ethyl pyruvate on physical and immunological barriers of the small intestine in a rat model of sepsis.
BACKGROUND
Physical and immunologic barriers of the small intestine play an important role in development and treatment of sepsis, so a rat model of sepsis was used to investigate the effect of ethyl pyruvate (EP) on the barriers.


METHODS
Male Wistar rats were divided into sham operated, cecal ligation and puncture, and EP groups. Survival and bacterial translocation were measured in response to EP administration. Physical barrier (including mitochondria of enterocyte, tight junction, microvilli, and the grade of small intestinal mucosa damage) and immunologic barrier (including distribution of T-cell subgroups in small intestinal villi, proportion of T-cell subgroups in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleens, proliferation and cytokines release of splenocytes) were determined by electron and light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.


RESULTS
Sepsis induced morphologic alteration and immunosuppression in the small intestine. EP administration can prevent these changes, especially immunologic change. Distribution of CD4+ T cells in villi, proportions of CD4+ T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleens, and proliferative capacity of splenocytes were increased in rats treated with EP. Interferon-gamma and Interleukin-4 release were also modulated. Moreover, EP improved survival from 37.1% to 57.1% and reduced bacterial translocation.


CONCLUSIONS
EP administration ameliorated physical and immunologic barriers dysfunction of small intestine in a rat model of sepsis. EP may be used to treat sepsis as an immunologic modulator.
Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Yijing
Y
Zhang
Ming
M
Li
Mei
M
Meng
Chengyong
C
Qin
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D018988:Bacterial Translocation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007408:Intestinal Absorption / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011773:Pyruvates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018805:Sepsis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016019:Survival Analysis
D016207:Cytokines; D011773:Pyruvates; C046522:ethyl pyruvate