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Updated: Nov 5, 2025
Design of Cecal Ligation and Puncture and Intranasal Infection Dual Model of Sepsis-Induced Immunosuppression
Published on: June 15, 2019
Immunomodulatory effects of anaesthetic sevoflurane in septic mouse model
Dengke Liu1, Lisha Mei2, Ping Zhao2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Weifang, Shandong 261041, China.
Abstract:
Sepsis is one among the dangerous medical threat that is very much related to body's immune system having no proper treatment for this condition. About19 million cases of sepsis have been recorded and out of which 5 million cases die every year. Sevoflurane other than controlling the depth of anaesthesia, it does have a vital role in immunomodulations. The study is focused on investigating the immunomodulatory effects of sevoflurane in the septic mouse model induced by CLP. Mortality rate, organ damage, inflammatory mediators, bacterial load, coagulopathy, hepto and renal functional changes, serum lactate, blood glucose, neutrophil sequestration and finally histopathological examination were investigated. The results were interesting that exposure to sevoflurane improves the polymicrobial abdominal sepsis outcome. Mice exposed to sevoflurane after CLP significantly improved outcomes of polymicrobial abdominal sepsis and reduced mortality by improving overall 7-day survival (83.3%) compared to mice without sevoflurane (no treatment group 16.6%) additionally decreasing the surrogate marker levels in the experimental sepsis animal model conducted. Our study suggests that the selection of certain anaesthetic drugs could be critical in the management of septic patients because their immunomodulatory effects could be large enough to affect sepsis pathophysiology.
Insights
Sevoflurane, an anesthetic, shows promise in treating sepsis by modulating the immune system. This study found sevoflurane significantly improved survival rates and reduced inflammatory markers in a sepsis mouse model.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Anesthesiology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Sepsis is a life-threatening condition with high mortality, often lacking effective treatments.
- The body's immune response plays a critical role in sepsis pathophysiology.
- Sevoflurane, commonly used for anesthesia, possesses immunomodulatory properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the immunomodulatory effects of sevoflurane in a polymicrobial abdominal sepsis model.
- To evaluate sevoflurane's impact on sepsis outcomes, including mortality, organ damage, and inflammatory responses.
Main Methods:
- Cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) was used to induce sepsis in a mouse model.
- Mice were exposed to sevoflurane post-CLP.
- Outcomes assessed included mortality, organ damage markers, inflammatory mediators, bacterial load, coagulopathy, and histopathology.
Main Results:
- Sevoflurane exposure significantly improved survival rates (83.3% vs. 16.6% in controls) in the CLP-induced sepsis model.
- Sevoflurane reduced levels of key inflammatory markers and surrogate markers of sepsis.
- Histopathological examination and functional tests indicated reduced organ damage in sevoflurane-treated mice.
Conclusions:
- Sevoflurane demonstrates significant therapeutic potential in improving outcomes for polymicrobial abdominal sepsis.
- The immunomodulatory effects of anesthetic agents like sevoflurane may be crucial for managing septic patients.
- Further research into anesthetic-induced immunomodulation could lead to novel sepsis treatment strategies.
