Expression of high mobility group protein B1 in the lungs of rats with sepsis

• Published in: World journal of emergency medicine 2011-01, Vol.2 (4), p.302-306
• Main Authors: Qiu, Qiao-Meng, Li, Zhong-Wang, Tang, Lu-Ming, Sun, Qi, Lu, Zhong-Qiu, Liang, Huan, Hong, Guang-Liang, Li, Meng-Fang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alcohol; Antimicrobial agents; Apoptosis; Gene expression; Infections; Liver diseases; Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome; Original; Pathogenesis; Protein expression; Proteins; Rodents; Sepsis; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1920-8642
• DOI: 10.5847/wjem.j.1920-8642.2011.04.011

Vibrio vulnificus inside the body could activate the NF-κB signaling pathway and initiate the inflammatory cascade. The lung is one of the earliest organs affected by sepsis associated with acute lung injury. High mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1) is an important late-acting pro-inflammatory cytokine involving in the pathophysiology of sepsis. It is also involved in the injury process in the lung, liver and intestine. There has been no report on the involvement of HMGB1 in Vibrio vulnificus sepsis-induced lung injury. Sixty rats were randomly divided into a normal control group (group A, n=10) and a Vibrio vulnificus sepsis group (group B, n=50). Sepsis was induced in the rats by subcutaneous injection of Vibrio vulnificus (concentration 6×10(8) cfu/mL, volume 0.1 mL/100g)) into the left lower limbs. The rats in group B were sacrificed separately 1, 6, 12, 24, and 48 hours after the infection. Their lungs were stored as specimens, lung water content was measured, and lung pathology was observed under a light microscope. The expressions of the HMGB1 gene and protein in the lungs were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot. Data were analyzed with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the LSD method for pair-wise comparison between the two groups. P