title: Erythropoietin prevents lymphoid apoptosis but has no effect on survival in experimental sepsis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lymphoid apoptosis in sepsis is associated with poor outcome, and prevention of apoptosis frequently improves survival in experimental models of sepsis. Recently, erythropoietin (EPO) was shown to protect against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mortality. As cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) is a clinically more relevant model of sepsis, we evaluated the effect of EPO on CLP-induced lymphoid tissue apoptosis and mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Young Wistar rats were subjected to polymicrobial sepsis by CLP. EPO (5,000 U/kg intraperitoneal) was administered 30 min before CLP and then 1 and 4 h after CLP. Spleen, thymus, and small intestine were harvested at 24 h and assessed for apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and caspase-3 staining. A separate group of animals was followed up for mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Splenic, thymic, and intestinal apoptosis was increased after CLP; administration of EPO significantly decreased apoptosis as determined by TUNEL and caspase-3 staining. Final survival in the CLP mortality study was 30% in both saline and EPO groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results provide the first evidence that EPO attenuates lymphoid apoptosis in the CLP model of sepsis. However, EPO is not associated with a survival benefit in the CLP model of sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dokuz Eylül University, Izmir, Turkey. tolga.koroglu@deu.edu.tr
authors.forename: Tolga F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Köroğlu
authors.forename: Osman
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yılmaz
authors.forename: Necati
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gökmen
authors.forename: Kazım
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tuğyan
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baskın
authors.forename: Mehtap Yüksel
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Eğrilmez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D002432:Cecum / Q000293:injuries / Q000382:microbiology; D004921:Erythropoietin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D004921:Erythropoietin