ELEVATED LEVELS OF MACROPHAGE INFLAMMATORY PROTEIN-2 IN SEVERE MURINEPERITONITIS INCREASE NEUTROPHIL RECRUITMENT AND MORTALITY

We hypothesized that chemokines may play important roles in a cecal li gation and puncture (CLP) model of septic peritonitis in CD-I mice, Co ncentrations of C-X-C (macrophage inflammatory protein 2 [MIP-2] and E NA-78) and C-C (MIP1 alpha and JE) chemokines were measured (by enzyme -linked immunosorbent assay) in serum, peritoneal lavage fluid, lung, and liver at 4, 8, 24, 38, and 96 h after CLP, Significant elevations in all measured chemokines occurred in peritoneal fluid after CLP (P < 0.05), MIP-2, in particular, increased dramatically (>400-fold, P < 0 .001) in peritoneal fluid, serum, and to a lesser extent lung and live r (P < 0.05), Increased MIP-2 was correlated with severity of sepsis ( P < 0.001), To determine the significance of this finding, mice were p assively immunized prior to CLP with polyclonal antibody to MIP-2, whi ch decreased mortality from 85 to 38% at 96 h (P < 0.01), To further u nderstand the mechanism of the effect of MIP-2, additional measurement s demonstrated that anti-MIP-2 prior to CLP decreased the percent neut rophils in peritoneal fluid (55% +/- 12%, compared with 82% +/- 10% in controls), but no significant changes in tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, or interleukin-10 occurred, MIP-2 contributes to the i nflammatory response and overall mortality in this model of severe sep tic peritonitis, possibly by increasing recruitment of neutrophils, wh ich clear bacteria but may also injure the host.