title: Protective effect of astaxanthin against multiple organ injury in a rat model of sepsis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Astaxanthin, a xanthophyll carotenoid, holds exceptional promise as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer agent. No evidence has been published whether it has protective effects on sepsis. The study aimed to investigate the potential effects of astaxanthin on sepsis and multiple organ dysfunctions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sepsis was induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals subjected to CLP and sham-operated control rats were given vehicle or astaxanthin 100 mg/kg/d by oral gavage for 7 d before the operation. The rats were killed at the indicated time points, and the specimen was collected. Cytokines and multiorgan injury-associated enzymatic and oxidative stress indicators were investigated. Multiorgan tissues were assessed histologically, the peritoneal bacterial load and the 72-h survival was observed too.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sepsis resulted in a significant increase in serum tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, and interleukin-6 levels showing systemic inflammatory response; it also caused a remarkable decrease in the superoxide dismutase activity and a significant increase in the malondialdehyde content showing oxidative damage; sepsis caused a great increase in organ injury-associated indicators, including blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase isoenzyme-MB isotype, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase, which was confirmed by histologic examination. And there was a dramatical increase of colony-forming units in the peritoneal cavity in septic rats. Astaxanthin reversed these inflammatory and oxidant response, alleviated the organ injury, reduced the peritoneal bacterial load, and improved the survival of septic rats induced by CLP.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Astaxanthin exerts impressively protective effects on CLP-induced multiple organ injury. It might be used as a potential treatment for clinical sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiangmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: wangaimin9876@163.com.
authors.forename: Aimin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D052279:Creatine Kinase, MB Form / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D009102:Multiple Organ Failure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology; D024341:Xanthophylls / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D024341:Xanthophylls; C005948:astaxanthine; D052279:Creatine Kinase, MB Form
keywords: Astaxanthin; Cecal ligation and puncture; Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome; Sepsis