AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 270, Issue 1 289-R297, Copyright © 1996 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Bidirectional effects of hepatic ischemia/reperfusion on E. coli-induced TNF-alpha gene expression

N. A. Epperly, A. J. Lechner, C. A. Johanns, R. O. Webster and G. M. Matuschak
Department of Internal Medicine, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Missouri 63110-0250, USA.

We tested the hypothesis that gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) and brief (30 min) reductions in the hepatic O2 supply by low-flow ischemia differentially modulate tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) gene expression owing to sequence-specific activation of cyclooxygenase vs. complement (C) pathways. Buffer-perfused Sprague-Dawley rat livers (n = 82) were studied over 180 min after intraportal 10(9) live E. coli serotype 055:B5 (EC) or 0.9% NaCl (NS) at t = 0. Compared with EC and NS controls receiving constant-flow perfusion, sequential GNB and ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) were studied in EC + 30 I/R and NS + 30 I/R livers, in which 30 min of ischemia (I) beginning 0.5 h after EC or NS was followed by 120 min of reperfusion (R). This sequence was reversed in 30 I/R + EC and 30 I/R + NS groups. Bacterial clearance, bioactive and antigenic TNF-alpha, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and hepatic O2 uptake and performance were serially assessed. Venous TNF-alpha increased in EC controls to peak at 155 +/- 29 U/ml after 180 min (P < 0.001 vs. NS controls) as did hepatic TNF-alpha mRNA. Both TNF-alpha transcripts and protein levels were markedly attenuated in EC + 30 I/R (P < 0.001 vs. EC) despite equivalent EC clearance by Kupffer cells. Indomethacin (10(-5) M) decreased I/R-induced PGE2 secretion and restored TNF-alpha to control levels. In contrast, TNF-alpha levels in 30 I/R + EC perfusates exceeded those of EC + 30 I/R livers (P < 0.05) and were indistinguishable from EC controls. Allopurinol pretreatment but not heat inactivation of C or infusion of soluble human complement receptor type 1 inhibited TNF-alpha production in 30 I/R + EC organs. These results identify a novel sequence-dependent interaction whereby hepatic O2 deprivation after GNB downregulates TNF-alpha via generation of cyclooxygenase metabolites, whereas ischemia preceding GNB increases cytokine expression via reactive O2 species but not C activation.

This article has been cited by other articles:

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