OBJECTIVETo investigate the inhibitory effects of extrinsic carbon monoxide-releasing molecules II on inflammatory responses in liver of mice with severe burns and its potential mechanisms.

METHODSForty-five male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into sham (simulation of burn with 37 degrees C warm water), sham + CORM-2 (with 8 mg/kg CORM-2 after the same manipulation as sham group), burn (with 15% TBSA full-thickness burns), burn + CORM-2 (with 8 mg/kg CORM-2 after the same manipulation as burn group), burn + DMSO (with DMSO after the same treatment as burn group) groups,with 9 mice in each group. The serum level of ALT and AST were determined at 24 post-burn hours (PBH), and the level of myeloperoxidase (MPO), nuclear factor (NF) kappaB, intercellular adhesion molecular (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecular (VCAM-1), as well as adhesion of polymorphonuclear leucocytes to sinusoidal endothelial cells (HSECs) after serum stimulation were detected and assessed at the same time-points.

RESULTSThe level of ALT and AST (398 +/- 34,122 +/- 22 ), the activity of MPO and NF-kappaB, the protein level of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 in burn group were obviously increased when compared with those in sham group and burn + CORM-2 group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Additionally, the adhesion of PMN on HSEC after stimulation of serum in burn group was enhanced, while it was markedly inhibited after stimulation of serum in burn + CORM-2 group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONExtrinsic CORM-2 exhibits the ability to inhibit NF-kappaB activity, reduces the hepatic expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1, thereby alleviating sequestration of leukocytes after severe burns, so that hepatic inflammatory response is ameliorated, and liver function is improved.

Animals ; Burns ; metabolism ; Carbon Monoxide ; metabolism ; Cell Adhesion ; Disease Models, Animal ; Inflammation ; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism ; Liver ; drug effects ; metabolism ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; NF-kappa B ; metabolism ; Neutrophils ; metabolism ; Organometallic Compounds ; pharmacology ; Peroxidase ; metabolism ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDMultislice helical computed tomography (MSCT) has been used to depict coronary anatomy noninvasively, and proved useful for evaluating ventricular function. The aim of our study was to assess the accuracy of ventricular volume as measured by MSCT.

METHODSFourteen human left ventricular (LV) and 15 right ventricular (RV) casts were scanned by MSCT. A series of LV and RV short-axis images were reconstructed later with slice thickness of 2.0 mm, 3.5 mm, 5.0 mm, 7.0 mm, and 10.0 mm. Ventricular volume was calculated by the multislice tomographic Simpson's method. True LV and RV cast volumes were determined by water displacement.

RESULTSBoth calculated LV and RV volumes correlated highly with the corresponding true volumes (all r >0.95, P <0.01). But with slice thickness from 2.0 mm to 10.0 mm, MSCT scanning overestimated the corresponding true volume by (3.21 +/- 5.95) ml to (12.58 +/- 8.56) ml for LV and (10.22 +/- 8.45) ml to (23.91 +/- 12.24) ml for RV (all P <0.01). There was a very high correlation between the overestimation and the selected slice thickness for both LV and RV volume measurements (r=0.998 and 0.996, P <0.01, respectively). However, when slice thickness was reduced to 5.0 mm, the overestimation for both LV and RV volume measurements became nonsignificant for slice thickness from 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm.

CONCLUSIONSBoth LV and RV volumes can be accurately estimated by MSCT. Thinner slice has more accurate calculated volume. However, 5.0 mm slice thickness is thin enough for an accurate measurement of LV or RV volume.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cardiac Volume ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; methods