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Updated: Mar 19, 2026
Platelet-based Detection of Nitric Oxide in Blood by Measuring VASP Phosphorylation
Published on: January 7, 2019
Direct detection of blood nitric oxide reveals a burn-dependent decrease of nitric oxide in response to Pseudomonas
Julia L M Dunn1, Rebecca A Hunter2, Karli Gast2
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Purpose:
Burn is associated with severe immune dysfunction, including an anti-inflammatory state that occurs late after burn. While increased nitric oxide (NO) production is associated with severe infection and sepsis, the effect of burn trauma on these levels during a non-lethal infection remains unknown. We hypothesized that in a mouse model, (1) NO levels would be increased after infection without trauma and (2) burn would lead to decreased NO production even during infection.
Methods:
Mice were infected via intra-tracheal inoculation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa 14 d following a 20% total body surface area contact burn. At 48h following infection, blood was drawn to quantify NO concentrations using a microfluidic electrochemical sensor.
Significant Findings:
In uninjured mice, infection caused a significant increase in blood NO levels. Increases in NO occurred in a dose-dependent response to the bacterial inoculum. Following burn, an identical infection did not elicit increases in NO.
Conclusions:
While increases in NO are expected over the course of an infection without prior trauma, burn and subsequent immune suppression decreases NO levels even in the presence of infection.
