Influence of splenectomy, partial splenectomy and splenic artery ligation on E. coli sepsis in rats

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to four groups--sham operation, partial splenectomy, splenic artery ligation or total splenectomy, and 4 weeks after the operation 3 x 10(8) colony-forming units of Escherichia coli were injected intraperitoneally. Among the splenectomized rats the mortality was significantly (p less than 0.02) increased compared with the controls, while both partial splenectomy and splenic artery ligation did not influence survival. Blood clearance and organ (liver, spleen and lungs) uptake of intravenously injected, radiolabelled, heat-killed E. coli were determined 1 hour after the intraperitoneal challenge. Splenectomy caused a significant decrease in blood clearance. Splenic uptake of radiolabelled E. coli was significantly reduced following partial splenectomy and splenic artery ligation. The splenic operations increased hepatic uptake expressed per gram tissue. Splenectomy thus resulted in reduced blood clearance and increased mortality in Gram-negative sepsis, while the reduced splenic uptake following partial splenectomy or splenic artery ligation did not influence blood clearance of E. coli or mortality.