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A1 adenosine receptor knockout mice exhibit increased mortality, renal dysfunction, and hepatic injury in murine septic peritonitis.

Gallos G, Ruyle TD, Emala CW, Lee HT

Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032-3784, USA.

Sepsis is a leading cause of multiorgan dysfunction and death in hospitalized patients. Dysregulated inflammatory processes and apoptosis contribute to the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced organ dysfunction and death. A(1) adenosine receptor (A(1)AR) activation reduces inflammation and apoptosis after ischemia-reperfusion injury. Therefore, we questioned whether A(1)AR-mediated reduction of inflammation and apoptosis could improve mortality and organ dysfunction in a murine model of sepsis. A(1)AR knockout mice (A(1) knockout) and their wild-type (A(1) wild-type) littermate controls were subjected to cecal ligation and double puncture (CLP) with a 20-gauge needle. A(1) knockout mice or A(1) wild-type mice treated with 1,3-dipropyl-8-cyclopentylxanthine (a selective A(1)AR antagonist) had a significantly higher mortality rate compared with A(1) wild-type mice following CLP. Mice lacking endogenous A(1)ARs demonstrated significant elevations in plasma creatinine, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, keratinocyte-derived chemokine, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha 24 h after induction of sepsis compared with wild-type mice. The renal corticomedullary junction from A(1) knockout mice also exhibited increased myeloperoxidase activity, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 protein, and mRNA encoding proinflammatory cytokines compared with renal samples from A(1) wild-type littermate controls. No difference in renal tubular apoptosis was detected between A(1) knockout and A(1) wild-type mice. We conclude that endogenous A(1)AR activation confers a protective effect in mice from septic peritonitis primarily by attenuating the hyperacute inflammatory response in sepsis.

Published 11 July 2005 in Am J Physiol Renal Physiol, 289(2): F369-76.
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