Kinetics of tumour necrosis factor α and interleukin 10 in rats with endotoxaemia and obstructive jaundice-induced anergy

Abstract

Abstract Background Obstructive jaundice leads to a significant increase in septic complications. In addition, endotoxaemia may cause a secondary insult. The effects of endotoxaemia and obstructive jaundice-induced anergy on the kinetics of two early mediators of the response to sepsis, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α and interleukin (IL) 10, were investigated. Methods Wistar rats had either bile duct ligation (BDL) or sham operation. After 2 weeks, anergy was confirmed by a delayed-type hypersensitivity response in rats that had undergone BDL. All rats were challenged with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 20 mg kg−1 or saline. After 90 and 180 min, rats were killed and blood samples were obtained for TNF-α and IL-10 measurement. Results There was no intragroup difference after saline challenge. LPS injection significantly increased both TNF-α and IL-10 levels in all groups compared with all saline injection groups. LPS injection following BDL led to significantly higher TNF-α levels and lower IL-10 levels at 90 min compared with those after sham operation (P < 0·05). There were no differences between TNF-α and IL-10 levels at 180 min following LPS challenge in rats that had undergone BDL. Conclusion BDL primes for an increase in TNF-α levels to a subsequent LPS challenge. However, the IL-10 increase following an LPS challenge is suppressed by BDL. These results suggest that BDL primes for a more vigorous inflammatory response to LPS challenge.