title: Systemic changes following carrageenan-induced paw inflammation in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Carrageenan-induced paw edema has been described as a local and acute inflammatory process. In fact, little is known about the time course and systemic changes following a carrageenan injection. In this study, we examine the systemic changes that follow carrageenan injection in the paw.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acute inflammation was produced by subplantar injection of carrageenan in a hind paw of Sprague-Dawley rats. Saline was used in control rats. Paw volume was measured with a plethysmometer. The hot plate latency test was used to quantify antinociception. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured with a sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Fibrinogen concentration was measured using the gravimetric method. Lung morphometric analysis was performed using an image processing package. Lungs and paws were also examined for tissue factor (TF) and proinflammatory cytokines expression by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We found diverse systemic changes including increased levels of acute phase proteins, such as CRP and fibrinogen, and a lung inflammatory process characterized by lung edema, fibrin deposition, and leukocyte infiltration. An elevated expression of TF, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNFα, was observed in paw and lung tissue sections by immunohistochemical methods.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides new evidence that a local carrageenan injection induces a systemic response.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Neurofisiología, Centro de Biofísica y Bioquímica (CBB), Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Apartado 20632, Caracas, 1020, Venezuela.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Salazar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crespo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bruges
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Osorio
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tortorici
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vanegas
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D002351:Carrageenan; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004487:Edema / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000378:metabolism; D005528:Foot / Q000473:pathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013925:Thromboplastin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D002351:Carrageenan; D005340:Fibrinogen; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D013925:Thromboplastin