title: Severity of sepsis-induced acute kidney injury in a novel mouse model is age dependent.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite extensive research, the mortality rate of patients with sepsis-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is unacceptably high, especially in the elderly. Current sepsis models have difficulties in reproducing AKI. This study aimed to develop a novel, clinically relevant mouse model for sepsis-induced AKI by uterine ligation and inoculation of bacteria. In addition, the age dependency of the severity of sepsis and sepsis-induced AKI was studied by validating this model in three different age categories.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experimental animal investigation.
  
  
  METHODS
  University research laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young (12-14 wks), aged (46-48 wks), and old (70-72 wks) C57BL/6 female mice were used as models for adolescent, adult premenopausal, and elderly postmenopausal women, respectively.
  
  
  METHODS
  Uterine ligation and inoculation with 10 colony forming unit Escherichia coli or saline (sham) was performed; in vivo imaging with a luminescent Escherichia coli strain documented the course of infection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All mice had established Escherichia coli sepsis at 48 hrs postinfection, with higher mortality rate in old (43%) compared to aged (23%) or young (9%) mice. Infected mice had elevated serum or plasma cytokine, chemokine (tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6, keratinocyte-derived chemokine, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and interleukin-10), and NOx concentrations compared to sham mice. AKI was confirmed by renal histology. Serum creatinine concentrations at 48 hrs increased with age (mean ± SEM; controls 0.18 ± 0.03 mg/dL, young 0.28 ± 0.03 mg/dL, aged 0.38 ± 0.05 mg/dL, and old 0.44 ± 0.06 mg/dL).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The uterine ligation and inoculation model for sepsis-induced AKI starts from a real infectious focus and shows an age-dependent severity of septic AKI that resembles AKI in humans.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Biochemistry, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors: Bert
authors: B
authors: Maddens
authors: Benjamin
authors: B
authors: Vandendriessche
authors: Dieter
authors: D
authors: Demon
authors: Raymond
authors: R
authors: Vanholder
authors: Koen
authors: K
authors: Chiers
authors: Anje
authors: A
authors: Cauwels
authors: Evelyne
authors: E
authors: Meyer
mesh_terms: D058186:Acute Kidney Injury / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001806:Blood Urea Nitrogen; D018925:Chemokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003404:Creatinine / Q000097:blood*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004926:Escherichia coli; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008026:Ligation / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011897:Random Allocation; D018570:Risk Assessment; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D015996:Survival Rate; D014599:Uterus / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D018925:Chemokines; D016207:Cytokines; D003404:Creatinine