Studying the cytokine profiles in animal models or patients with sepsis provides an experimental basis for the identification of diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. In this study, we used a liquid protein chip (LiquiChip), also known as flexible multi-analyte profiling technology, to perform quantitative analyses of several cytokines and chemokines (e.g., IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12, TNF-α, IFN-γ, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, keratinocyte chemoattractant, monocyte chemoattractant protein, monokine induced by gamma interferon, IFN-γ-inducible protein 10, and macrophage inflammatory protein 1 alpha). The levels of these cytokines and chemokines were determined both in the blood and in tissues, including the lung, liver, heart, kidney, spleen, brain, stomach, intestine and muscle, of mice challenged with LPS. Our data showed variable production levels of LPS-induced cytokines in different mouse organs, and the cytokine in the blood did not correlate with those in the organs. We also showed that the levels of most cytokines peaked within 1 to 6 h and decreased rapidly afterward. A variety of inflammatory cytokines might be related to the damage in different organs during septic shock. Our data also suggest that the spleen might be an important target organ in the development of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and sepsis.
Keywords: chemokine; cytokine; endotoxin; septic shock.