Surgical stress reduces mortality from endotoxin shock

Surgical stress has been considered a preliminary to multiple organ failure through what has been termed a "two-hit" mechanism. Recent evidence, however, suggests that such stress has a beneficial influence in reducing endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)]-mediated lethality. This study has been an effort to clarify whether and how LPS-mediated septic shock is prevented by a previous insult with mild (laparotomy) or severe (hepatectomy) surgical stress.

LPS was injected intraperitoneally into mice after two-thirds hepatectomy or laparotomy only. Survival rates, and protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured.

Most of the unoperated control mice died within 3 days after the LPS challenge. Mortality following LPS injection was reduced after laparotomy only or hepatectomy (P<0.05). A significant reduction in the mortality was observed from 2 days to 7 days after laparotomy only, and from 2 days to 4 weeks after hepatectomy. Correspondingly, the increase in the serum levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 induced by the LPS injection was partially impaired by either laparotomy only or hepatectomy at an early (2 days) postoperative stage (P<0.05). At a later (7 days) stage, however, the serum level of IL-6 and its mRNA level in the spleen were elevated after the LPS challenge more quickly in the hepatectomy group than in the unoperated control group ( P<0.05).

Surgical stress reduces LPS-induced lethality through biphasically regulating the levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 production.