Background: Splanchnic hypoperfusion is believed to be central in the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic shock-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome and multiple organ failure. Our previous work focused on the portal circulation as the conduit for gut-derived mediators of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Our current focus is the proinflammatory effects of postshock mesenteric lymph. We hypothesize that postshock lymph induces neutrophil (PMN)-mediated endothelial cell damage in an intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1)-dependent fashion, and devised a two-insult model to test this hypothesis.
Methods: Rats (n > or = 5) underwent hemorrhagic shock (mean arterial pressure, 40 mm Hg for 30 minutes) and resuscitation (shed blood plus two times crystalloid) with lymph collection. Human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs) were divided into three groups and grown to near confluence. Group 1 was incubated for 6 hours in 1% preshock or postshock lymph and ICAM-1 was measured by flow cytometry. Group 2 consisted of coculture of HMVECs and PMNs after endothelial cell activation to determine whether postshock lymph would stimulate PMN adherence. Group 3 was incubated under identical conditions, but PMNs were added for 30 minutes, and then activated with 4.5 micromol/L lysophosphatidylcholine (lyso-PC) for 1 hour to ascertain cytotoxicity. HMVEC density was measured using microscopy and recorded as HMVECs per millimeter squared. ICAM-1-blocking antibody and isotype control were used to assess the effects of ICAM-1 on PMN cytotoxicity. A buffer control was used for comparison using analysis of variance with Tukey's correction.
Results: Postshock lymph activated HMVECs for increased surface expression of ICAM-1 and stimulated PMNs to adhere to endothelial cell monolayers. Activation of PMNs with lyso-PC in the presence of postshock lymph resulted in marked HMVEC death. The addition of an ICAM-1-blocking antibody abrogated this effect. Neither postshock lymph alone (758 +/- 35 HMVECs/mm(2)), nor postshock lymph in the presence of quiescent PMNs alone (734 +/- 28 HMVECs/mm(2)), nor lymph plus lyso-PC (834 +/- 21 HMVECs/mm(2)) provoked endothelial cell damage.
Conclusion: Postshock mesenteric lymph activates endothelial cells for increased ICAM-1 expression and PMN adherence. Furthermore, postshock lymph acts as an inciting event in a two-event in vitro model of PMN-mediated endothelial cell injury. These findings further substantiate the key mechanistic role of mesenteric lymph in hemorrhagic shock-induced acute lung injury and suggest that ICAM-1 expression is pivotal in the two-event model of multiple organ failure.