COMPARISON OF PLASMA CYTOKINE LEVELS IN RATS SUBJECTED TO SUPERIOR MESENTERIC-ARTERY OCCLUSION OR HEMORRHAGIC-SHOCK

The overall goal of this study was to compare the effects of systemic hypotension (hemorrhagic shock) versus local gut ischemia (superior me senteric artery (SMA) occlusion) on cytokine production and bacterial/ endotoxin translocation. Sham or actual SMA occlusion led to an increa se in tumor necrosis factor (TNF), which was greatest at the end of th e occlusion period, while the IL-6 response peaked 3 h post-SMA occlus ion. The TNF and IL-6 response after hemorrhagic shock differed from t hat observed after SMA occlusion in that the peak response occurred la ter and was of lower magnitude (p < .05). Although the animals subject ed to SMA occlusion had a significantly increased incidence of bacteri al translocation to both the mesenteric lymph nodes and systemic organ s compared to rats subjected to hemorrhagic shock, in neither group wa s the blood level of endotoxin elevated and there was no association b etween bacterial translocation and cytokine levels. These results sugg est that different models of intestinal ischemia have different cytoki ne profiles and that the early TNF response associated with SMA occlus ion model is primarily due to the laparotomy.