Inter-organ correlations in inflammation regulation: a novel biological paradigm in a murine model

Interactions between immune system constituents are mediated through direct contact or the transfer of mediators. The study aimed to assess the correlation between system components and out-of-body signals in a model of liver inflammation. In the first experiment, mice injected with Concanavalin A (ConA) were housed in a cage with a tube on top containing healthy livers or livers harvested from mice injected with ConA. In the second experiment, mice were housed in a cage with a tube that contained splenocytes harvested from naïve donors or from naïve donors treated in vitro with dexamethasone. Mice were tested for serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. External whole livers and spleens influenced the immune-mediated inflammatory response of mice. When ConA-injected mice were housed in cages with tubes containing livers harvested from naïve mice, ALT serum levels were significantly reduced. ALT serum levels were significantly elevated when mice were kept in cages with a tube containing livers harvested from ConA-injected mice. In the second part of the experiment, mice injected with ConA and housed in cages with a tube on top that contained splenocytes harvested from naïve donors had increased ALT levels. Similarly, mice with tubes containing splenocytes from dexamethasone-treated naïve donors also showed elevated ALT levels. The data suggest that correlations between immune system constituents can be established using out-of-body whole livers or spleens without contact or transfer of mediators.