Indoor animal husbandry environments are inevitably contaminated with endotoxins. Endotoxin exposure is associated with various inflammatory illnesses in animals. This cross-sectional study evaluated the relationship between the degree of endotoxin exposure and the cellular and humoral immune profiles of fattening pigs. Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein of 47 pigs from ten pig farms in Korea. Whole blood cell counts and plasma immunoglobulin (Ig) classes were determined. Peripheral-blood mononuclear cells were stimulated in vitro with concanavalin A for 48 h, and cytokines released into culture supernatants were measured. The barns in which the pigs lived were assessed for endotoxin levels in the total and respirable dust by using the limulus amebocyte lysate kinetic QCL method. Low and high endotoxin exposures were defined as ≤ 30 and > 30 EU/m³, respectively. Compared to pigs with low endotoxin exposure (n = 19), highly exposed pigs (n = 28) had higher circulating neutrophil and lymphocyte (particularly B cells) counts, IgG and IgE levels, interferon-gamma (IFNγ) and interleukin (IL)-4 productions, and lower IgA levels and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) production. The IL-4, IFNγ, and TNFα levels significantly correlated with endotoxin level and/or pig age. Constant exposure of pigs to high levels of airborne endotoxins can lead to aberrant immune profiles.
Agriculture ; Animal Husbandry ; Animals ; Blood Cell Count ; Concanavalin A ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Cytokines ; Dust ; Endotoxins ; Horseshoe Crabs ; Housing ; Immunity, Cellular ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin E ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulins ; In Vitro Techniques ; Interferon-gamma ; Interleukin-4 ; Interleukins ; Jugular Veins ; Korea ; Lymphocytes ; Methods ; Neutrophils ; Plasma ; Swine ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

The term “particulate Matter (PM)” refers to the mixture of small-sized solid particles and liquid droplets floating in the air, and is referred to as PM₁₀ ( < 10 µm), PM(2.5) ( < 2.5 µm) and PM(1.0). Much PM is an anthropogenic substance generated by transportation or industrial activities, which is transformed into a second toxic substance by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. PM reaches the brain directly through olfactory transport, or through the blood-brain barrier during systemic circulation. PM that enters the local cerebral circulation causes neuroinflammation through microglial cells and endotoxins. According to previous studies, greater PM exposure results in lower brain volume, especially white matter. Among neurodevelopmental disorders, the correlation between the occurrence of autism spectrum disorder and exposure to PM is widely known. Other studies have found that exposure to PM was associated with low cognitive function and increased rate of cognitive aging. PM can also cause pathology of early Alzheimer's disease and increases the risk of Alzheimer's dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
Air Pollution ; Alzheimer Disease ; Atmosphere ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; Brain ; Cerebrovascular Circulation ; Cognition ; Cognitive Aging ; Dementia ; Endotoxins ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Neurodevelopmental Disorders ; Particulate Matter ; Pathology ; Transportation ; White Matter

OBJECTIVETo explore the dynamic changes of transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) of liver cirrhosis induced by multiple pathogenic factors in rats.

METHODSAnimals in the cirrhosis group were fed a mixture of maize flour, lard, cholesterol and alcohol plus subcutaneously injection with carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄), the CCl₄(0.5 ml/100 g · w) was injected at the first day of experiment and the 40% CCl₄oil solution (0.3 ml /100 g · w) was injected at an interval of three days. The thirty-six male SD rats were randomly divided into liver cirrhosis group of the 4th, 6th and 8 th week, and normal control group of the 4th, 6th and 8th week. The contents of alanine transferase (ALT), endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and homocysteine (Hcy) in plasma were evaluated. Histopathological changes of the liver were observed under microscope with the staining of HE. The expressions of TGF-α and TGF-β1 were analyzed by the method of immunohistochemistry.

RESULTSCompared with the corresponding normal control group, the levels of ALT, endotoxin, TNF-α and Hcy in plasma were gradually significantly increased in liver cirrhosis group of the 4th, 6th and 8th week (P < 0.05); the expression of TGF-α in the liver tissues was significantly increased at the 4th week (P < 0.05); the expression of TGF-β1 in the liver tissues was gradually significantly increased in every model group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn the formation process of cirrhosis, the expression of TGF-α was increased in liver of cirrhosis group at the 4th week, and later it was suppressed; the expression of TGF-β1 was continuously increased. The characteristic dynamic changes of TGF-α and TGF-β1 might be related to sustained endotoxemia, the high level of TNF-α and hyperhomocysteinemia.

Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Animals ; Carbon Tetrachloride ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Homocysteine ; blood ; Liver Cirrhosis ; metabolism ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Transforming Growth Factor alpha ; metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; metabolism ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDBoth procalcitonin (PCT) and plasma endotoxin levels cannot be solely used for a definite diagnosis of bacteremia or sepsis, and there has been few study comparing the values of the two biomarkers for the diagnosis of bacteremia. The aim of this study was to identify bacteria causing bacteremia and evaluate the role of the two biomarkers in the diagnosis of bacteremia in Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

METHODSThe medical records of 420 patients in ICU were retrospectively reviewed. Patients (n = 241) who met the inclusion criteria were subjected to blood culture (BC) for the analysis of the endotoxin or PCT levels. The exclusion criteria included the presence of infection with human immunodeficiency virus and/or AIDS, neutropenia without sepsis, pregnancy, treatment with immunosuppressive therapies, or blood diseases such as hematological tumors. Patients' BC episodes were divided into BC negative, Gram-negative (GN) bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, and fungi groups. The PCT and plasma endotoxin levels were compared in the different groups.

RESULTSA total of 241 patients with 505 episodes of BC were analyzed. The GN bacteria group showed higher levels of PCT and endotoxin than the BC negative, Gram-positive bacteria, and fungi groups. GN bacteremia was more prevalent than Gram-positive bacteremia. The GN bacteremia caused by non-Enterobacteriaceae infection presented higher endotoxin level than that by Enterobacteriaceae, but no significant difference in PCT levels was observed between the two groups. The plasma endotoxin significantly differed among different groups and was bacterial species dependent.

CONCLUSIONSPlasma endotoxin was more related to GN than to Gram-positive bacteremia, and that endotoxin level was species dependent, but PCT level remained relatively more stable within the GN bacteria caused bacteremia. Both GN and positive bacteria caused bacteremia in the ICU patients in different regions of China. And PCT is a more valuable biomarker than endotoxin in the diagnosis of bacteremia.

Adult ; Aged ; Bacteremia ; blood ; diagnosis ; Calcitonin ; blood ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Female ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; isolation & purification ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Middle Aged

The severe local thermal trauma activates a number of systemic inflammatory mediators, such as TNF-α, NF-κB, resulting in a disruption of gut barrier. The gastrointestinal tight junction (TJ) is highly regulated by membrane-associated proteins including zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) and occludin, which can be modulated by inflammatory cytokines. As splenectomy has been shown to reduce secretion of cytokines, we hypothesized that (1) severe scald injury up-regulates TNF-α and NF-κB, meanwhile down-regulates expression of ZO-1 and occludin, leading to the increased intestinal permeability, and (2) splenectomy can prevent the burn-induced decrease in ZO-1 and occludin expression, resulting in improved intestinal barrier. Wistar rats undergoing a 30% total body surface area (TBSA) thermal trauma were randomized to receive an accessorial splenectomy meanwhile or not. Intestinal injury was assessed by histological morphological analysis, and serum endotoxin levels, TNF-α, NF-κB, ZO-1 and occludin levels were detected by Western blotting in the terminal ileum mucosal tissue. 30% TBSA burn caused a significant increase in serum endotoxin levels, but NF-κB, and TNF-α, and the average intestinal villus height and mucosal thickness were decreased significantly. Burn injury could also markedly decrease the levels of ZO-1 and occludin in terminal ileum mucosal tissue (all P<0.01). Splenectomy at 7th day after burn significantly reversed the burn-induced breakdown of ZO-1 and occludin (all P<0.01). The results of this study suggest that severe thermal injury damages the intestinal mucosal barrier. Splenectomy may provide a therapeutic benefit in restoring burn-induced intestinal barrier by decreasing the release of inflammatory cytokines and recovering TJ proteins.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Female ; Hot Temperature ; Intestinal Mucosa ; physiopathology ; Male ; NF-kappa B ; blood ; Occludin ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Splenectomy ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood ; Zonula Occludens-1 Protein ; metabolism

Hazardous biochemical agents in animal husbandry indoor environments are known to promote the occurrence of various illnesses among workers and animals. The relationship between endotoxin levels in dust collected from chicken farms and various immunological markers was investigated. Peripheral blood was obtained from 20 broiler chickens and 20 laying hens from four different chicken farms in Korea. Concentrations of total or respirable dust in the inside the chicken farm buildings were measured using a polyvinyl chloride membrane filter and mini volume sampler. Endotoxin levels in the dust were determined by the Limulus Amebocyte Lysate Kinetic method. Interferon-gamma production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with concanavalin A was significantly lower in broilers or layers from the farms with higher endotoxin concentrations than the chickens from the farms with lower endotoxin levels. An opposite pattern was observed for plasma cortisol concentrations with higher cortisol levels found in chickens from the farms with higher endotoxin levels. When peripheral lymphocytes were examined, the percentage of CD3-Ia+ B cells was lower in layers from farms with higher endotoxin levels than those from locations with lower endotoxin levels. Overall, these results suggest a probable negative association between dust endotoxin levels and cell-mediated immunity in chickens.
Animal Husbandry ; Animals ; Biomarkers/blood ; Chickens/*immunology ; Dust/*analysis ; Endotoxins/*analysis ; *Housing, Animal ; *Immunity, Cellular

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3PUFAs) on gut microbiota and endotoxin levels in portal vein of rats fed with a high-fat diet (HFD).

METHODSThirty-six male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups and fed with normal control diet (CD), HFD, CD supplemented with n-3PUFAs, and HFD supplemented with n-3PUFAs, respectively. Fresh fecal samples were collected to analyze the gut microbiota 10 weeks after feeding. DNA was exacted from the fresh fecal samples. Quantitative PCR was used to detect the composition of the gut microbiota. The endotoxin levels were detected through modified azo chromogenic substrate limulus amebocyte lysate assay.

RESULTSThe differences in body weight before breeding in each group were not statistically significant among these four groups (P=0.613). The increase in the body weight was significantly larger in the HFD group than in the CD group (P=0.0002), CD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.0001), and HFD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.022). There were significantly more firmicutes (P=0.002) and enterobacteriales (P=0.022) and significantly less bacteroidetes (P=0.026) and bifidobactera (P=0.034) in the gut of rats from HFD group than those from the CD group. There were significantly more bacteroidetes in the fecal samples of the rats from the CD+n-3PUFAs group compared to those from the CD group (P=0.043). There were significantly more firmicutes (P=0.044)and enterobacteriales (P=0.012) and less bacteroidetes (P=0.042) in the fecal samples of the rats from HFD group compared to those from the HFD+n-3PUFAs group. The endotoxin in plasma form portal vein of rats in HFD group were significantly higher than in CD group (P=0.007) and HFD+n-3PUFAs group (P=0.042) but showed no significant difference between CD+n-3PUFAs and CD group (P=0.210).

CONCLUSIONSHFD can increase body weight and change gut microbiota. Supplementation of n-3PUFAs can partially counteract such gut dysbiosis, lower endotoxin level in portal vein blood, and improve the body weight.

Animals ; Body Weight ; Diet, High-Fat ; adverse effects ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ; pharmacology ; Intestines ; microbiology ; Male ; Microbiota ; drug effects ; Portal Vein ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

PURPOSE: It has been reported that the Pulse Contour Cardiac Output (PiCCO) is very useful mainly in the field of intensive care and treatment to grasp the pathophysiological conditions of pulmonary edema because of its capability of obtaining data such as Pulmonary Vascular Permeability Index (PVPI) and Extra Vascular Lung Water (EVLW). Furthermore, a high degree of usability of various markers has been reported for better understanding of the pathological conditions in cases with septicemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The correlation between the cardiorespiratory status based upon the PiCCO monitor (EVLW and PVPI) and inflammatory markers including C reactive protein, procalcitonin (PC), and Endotoxin Activity Assay (EAA) were evaluated in 11 severe cases that required treatment with a respirator in an intensive care unit. RESULTS: The EAA values were significantly higher in patients with abnormal EVLW at 0.46+/-0.20 compared to the normal EVLW group at 0.21+/-0.19 (p=0.0064). In a similar fashion, patients with abnormal PVPI values tended to have higher PC levels at 18.9+/-21.8 compared to normal PVPI cases at 2.4+/-2.2 (p=0.0676). On the other hand, PVPI was significantly higher in the abnormal EAA group at 3.55+/-0.48 in comparison with the normal EAA group at 1.99+/-0.68 (p=0.0029). The abnormal EAA group tended to have higher PVPI values than the normal EAA group. CONCLUSION: The EAA is a measurement method designed to estimate the activity of endotoxins in the whole blood. Our results suggest that the EAA value, which had the greatest correlation with lung disorders diagnosed by the PiCCO monitoring, reflects inflammatory reactions predominantly in the lungs.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cardiac Output/physiology ; Endotoxins/*blood ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Injury/*blood/*diagnosis/physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Edema/blood/*diagnosis/physiopathology

OBJECTIVETo explore the mechanism of tanshinol on alleviate the inflammatory injury of lung tissue in rat hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS).

METHODSSD rats were randomly divided into normal control group (n = 8), hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS) group (n = 11) and tanshinol intervention group (n = 9). HE staining was used to observe the histopathology changes of pulmonary and hepatic tissues, and to count the number of macrophages in lung tissues. The activity of alanine transferase (ALT) and concentrations of endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-alpha) and homocystein (Hcy) in plasma were detected. The concentrations of TNF-alpha, nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and the activity of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the lung tissues were measured, respectively.

RESULTSThickened alveolar septum and increased macrophages were observed in lungs in HPS rat. After administered with tanshinol, the pulmonary pathological changes were alleviated and the number of macrophages in lung tissue was decreased compared with HPS group. The activity of ALT and the concentrations of endotoxin, TNF-alpha and Hcy in plasma ,and TNF-alpha, iNOS, NO and MDA in lung tissue in HPS group were higher than those of normal control group; meanwhile, those tanshinol group were less those that of HPS group.

CONCLUSIONTanshinol may play an important role in delaying the development of HPS through protecting liver or directly antagonizing the effect of intestinal endotoxemia so as to alleviate the inflammatory reaction in lung tissue.

Alanine Transaminase ; metabolism ; Animals ; Caffeic Acids ; pharmacology ; Disease Models, Animal ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Hepatopulmonary Syndrome ; drug therapy ; pathology ; Homocysteine ; blood ; Liver ; drug effects ; pathology ; Lung ; drug effects ; pathology ; Macrophages ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Malondialdehyde ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide ; metabolism ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; metabolism ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; blood

OBJECTIVETo study the protective effects of sacral nerve root electrostimulation on intestinal mechanical barrier in rats with spinal cord injury (SCI).

METHODSFifty six Wistar rats were divided into normal group, SCI control group and SCI group with sacral nerve root electrostimulation (8 rats in each subgroup at 24, 48, 72 h after spinal cord injury). The following experiments were performed respectively in rats from the 3 groups: bacteria culture from intestinal mesentery lymph nodes, liver, spleen, intestinal morphology observation and detection the protein expression level of ZO-1.

RESULTSThe intestinal mucosa appeared different degree of damage in SCI control group; cell-cell connections between intestinal epithelial cells were destroyed; Endotoxin levels in blood and the number of bacterial translocation increased obviously. Sacral nerve stimulation was found toimprove the intestinal mucosal, reduce the endotoxin content in the blood to normal level and the decrease the incidences of bacterial translocation of the gut origin. The expression of tight junction protein ZO-1 of rat intestinal tissue had no statistical differences among the 3 groups. On the other hand, the distribution of tight junction protein ZO-1 appeared different degrees of scattered and irregular in the control group while that in the experimental group appeared different degree of improvement as determined by the immunohistochemistry of rat intestinal tissue.

CONCLUSIONsacral nerve root electrostimulation can rehabilitate the peristalsis of denervated colon, promote defeacation and decrease bacterial amount, protection of the intestinal mechanical barrier between intestinal epithelial cells and tight junction, reducing the endotoxin content in the blood and suppressing bacterial translocation from the gut.

Animals ; Bacterial Translocation ; Electric Stimulation Therapy ; Endotoxins ; blood ; Epithelial Cells ; cytology ; Intestinal Mucosa ; physiology ; Peristalsis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; physiopathology ; Zonula Occludens-1 Protein ; metabolism