LOCAL PRODUCTION OF OXYGEN-FREE RADICALS AND NITRIC-OXIDE IN RAT DIAPHRAGM DURING SEPSIS - EFFECTS OF PENTOXIFYLLINE AND SOMATOSTATIN

Objective: To investigate the effect of giving lipopolysaccharide (LPS ) on lipid peroxidation, and myeloperoxidase (MPO), nitric oxide (NO) synthase, and phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) activities in rat diaphragm, and see whether they could be modified by giving pentoxifylline (PTXF ) or somatostatin. Design: Randomised experimental study. Setting: Tea ching hospital, Spain. Material: 76 Wistar rats divided into 4 groups of 19: control (saline/saline), LPS/saline, LPS/PTXF and LPS/somatosta tin. Interventions: The LPS was given intraperitoneally either 30 minu tes (early, n = 10 in each group) or 120 minutes (late, n = 9 in each group) before treatment with saline, PTXF (45 mg/kg) or somatostatin ( 200 mu g/kg) given intraperitoneally. Rats were killed 120 minutes aft er treatment. Main outcome measures: Malondialdehyde (MDA) and conjuga ted dienes content, and MPO, NO synthase, and PLA(2) activities in dia phragmatic tissue. Results: Conjugated dienes and MDA content, as well as MPO, NO synthase, and PLA(2) activities were significantly increas ed in the rats given LPS. Independently of the timing of treatment, bo th PTXF and somatostatin completely prevented these increases. Conclus ion: It is possible that treatment with PTXF or somatostatin may reduc e the risk of ventilatory failure and speed recovery in septic patient s.