UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

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

[thumbnail of art_10.1007_s12035-016-9941-z.pdf]
Preview
Text
art_10.1007_s12035-016-9941-z.pdf - Published Version

Download (840kB) | Preview

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
Downloads since deposit
84Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item