title: Survival advantage depends on cecal volume rather than cecal length in a mouse model of cecal ligation and puncture.
abstract: Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) is the most commonly used model to simulate human polymicrobial sepsis. However, the severity of CLP is difficult to be standardized across different laboratories. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of ligated cecal volume and length on mortality in mouse CLP model.
  
  
  
  Cecal length and volume were measured from 120 Kunming mice subjected to CLP or sham operation. According to cecal volume, mice were divided into three groups, volume0.0∼0.2 (0.0 cm(3)-0.2 cm(3)), volume0.2∼0.4 (0.2 cm(3)-0.4 cm(3)), and volume>0.4 (larger than 0.4 cm(3)). The contents of cytokines, including interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, and TNF-α, were measured at 3 h after surgery. The blood bacterial load and oxidative stress indicators (including malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase) were measured at 12 h after surgery.
  
  
  
  There was no significant difference on 72-h survival rate between the mice with cecum longer than 2 cm and shorter than 2 cm. Compared to the other volume groups, volume>0.4 group showed significantly increased blood bacterial load, malondialdehyde levels in lung and liver, and pro-inflammatory cytokines in serum. Surprisingly, the survival rate in volume>0.4 (0%) group showed significant difference from those of volume0.0∼0.2 group (40%) and volume0.2∼0.4 group (40%).
  
  
  
  The mice in volume>0.4 group have much serious inflammatory reaction and are easier to die. As the proportion of volume>0.4 mice is near 20%, it can have large influence on most of the related studies using this CLP model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Education Ministry Key Laboratory for Tropical Disease Control Research, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Tianzhang
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Education Ministry Key Laboratory for Tropical Disease Control Research, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Hongling
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Jintao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Lilin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Education Ministry Key Laboratory for Tropical Disease Control Research, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Tailong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology and Venereology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: hhuaiqiu@medmail.com.cn.
authors.forename: Huaiqiu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Education Ministry Key Laboratory for Tropical Disease Control Research, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. Electronic address: huxuchu@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xuchu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002432:Cecum / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000601:surgery*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008026:Ligation / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000601:surgery*; D009929:Organ Size; D011897:Random Allocation; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000401:mortality*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Cecal volume; Experimental sepsis; Ligation