Effects of Hydrogen Sulfide on a Rat Model of Sepsis-associated Encephalopathy

• Published in: Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. Medical sciences Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 632 - 636
• Main Author: 陈娣 潘昊 李醇文 兰秀彩 刘蓓蓓 杨光田
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Huazhong University of Science and Technology 01.10.2011; Department of Emergency, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China%Department of Emergency, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
• Subjects: Aminooxyacetic Acid - therapeutic use; Animal models; Animals; Brain Diseases - drug therapy; Brain Diseases - etiology; Brain injury; Cecum; Cystathionine beta-Synthase - metabolism; Cytokines - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Encephalopathy; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Hippocampus; Hippocampus - metabolism; Hydrogen sulfide; Hydrogen Sulfide - antagonists & inhibitors; Hydrogen Sulfide - metabolism; Inflammation; Interleukin 1; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neuroprotective Agents - therapeutic use; Polymerase chain reaction; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Reverse transcription; Sepsis; Sepsis - complications; Sodium; Tumor necrosis factor- alpha; 关联性; 大鼠模型; 海马神经元; 硫化氢; 脑病; 败血症; 逆转录聚合酶链反应; 酶联免疫吸附试验; sepsis-associated encephalopathy; hydrogen sulfide; TNF-α; IL-1β; IL- β
• ISSN: 1672-0733; 1993-1352
• DOI: 10.1007/s11596-011-0573-2

To investigate the interaction and involvement of sodium hydrosulfide （NaHS）, a H2S donor, on hippocampus of rats suffering from sepsis-associated encephalopathy, rats were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture （CLP）-induced sepsis. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups： Sham group, CLP group, CLP＋NaHS group and CLP＋aminooxyacetic acid （AOAA, an inhibitor of H2S formation） group. The four groups were observed at 3, 6, 9, 12 h after treatment. We examined hippocampal H2S synthesis and the expression of cystathionine-β-synthetase （CBS）, a major enzyme involved in the H2S synthesis in hippocampus. CBS expression was detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR）. The concentrations of inflammatory cytokines （TNF-α, IL-1β） were determined in hippocampus by using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Neuronal damage was studied by histological examination of hippocampus. In CLP group, H2S synthesis was significantly increased in hippocampus compared with sham group and it peaked 3 h after CLP （P〈0.05）. Sepsis also resulted in a significantly upregulated CBS mRNA in hippocampus. The levels of TNF-α and IL-1β in the hippocampus were substantially elevated at each time point of measurement （P〈0.05）, and they also reached a peak value at about 3 h. Administration of NaHS significantly aggravated sepsis-associated hippocampus inflammation, as evidenced by TNF-α and IL-1β activity and histological changes in hippocampus. In septic rats pretreated with AOAA, sepsis-associated hippocampus inflammation was reduced. It is concluded that the rats subjected to sepsis may suffer from brain injury and elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines are responsible for the process. Furthermore, administration of H2S can increase injurious effects and treatment with AOAA can protect the brain from injury.