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Characterization of brain-heart interactions in a rodent model of sepsis

Pinto, BB; Ritter, C; Michels, M; Gambarotta, N; Ferrario, M; Dal-Pizzol, F; Singer, M; (2017) Characterization of brain-heart interactions in a rodent model of sepsis. Molecular Neurobiology , 54 (5) pp. 3745-3752. 10.1007/s12035-016-9941-z. Green open access

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Abstract

Loss of heart rate variability (HRV) and autonomic dysfunction are associated with poor outcomes in critically ill patients. Neuronal networks comprising brainstem and hypothalamus are involved in the "flight-or-fight" response via control over the autonomic nervous system and circulation. We hypothesized that sepsis-induced inflammation in brain regions responsible for autonomic control is associated with sympathovagal imbalance and depressed contractility. Sepsis was induced by fecal slurry injection in fluid-resuscitated rats. Sham-operated animals served as controls. Echocardiography-derived peak velocity (PV) was used to separate septic animals into good (PV ≥0.93 m/s, low 72-h mortality) and bad (PV <0.93, high 72-h mortality) prognosis. Cytokine protein levels were assessed by ELISA. All experiments were performed at 24 h post-insult. Increased levels of inflammation and oxidative injury were observed in the hypothalamus (TNF-α, IL-10, nitrite and nitrate and carbonyl groups) and brainstem (IL-1, IL-6, IL-10, nitrite and nitrate and carbonyl groups) of the septic animals (p < 0.05 vs. sham), but not in the pre-frontal cortex, an area not directly implicated in control of the autonomic nervous system. Good prognosis septic animals had increased sympathetic output and increased left ventricular contractility (p < 0.05 vs. sham). There was a significant inverse correlation between high frequency power (a marker of parasympathetic outflow) and contractility (r = -0.73, p < 0.05). We found no correlation between the degree of inflammation or injury to autonomic centers and cardiovascular function. In conclusion, control of autonomic centers and cardiac function in our long-term rodent model of sepsis was related to clinical severity but not directly to the degree of inflammation.

Type: Article
Title: Characterization of brain-heart interactions in a rodent model of sepsis
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-9941-z
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12035-016-9941-z
Language: English
Additional information: © The Author(s) 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
Keywords: Autonomic nervous system, Contractility, Encephalopathy, Heart rate variability, Inflammation, Sepsis
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Experimental and Translational Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1508356
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