Effects of hemorrhage on cytokine gene transcription

Injury and blood loss are often followed by infection and the rapid development of organ system dysfunction, frequently involving mucosal sites, such as the lung and intestine. To examine possible mechanisms contributing to these conditions, we used semiquantitative polymerase chain reactions to determine cytokine mRNA expression among cellular populations isolated from mucosal and systemic anatomic sites of mice at predetermined time points following 30% blood volume hemorrhage with resuscitation 1 hr later. Within 1 hr after hemorrhage, significant increases were observed in mRNA levels for IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, IL-5, and TGF-beta in intraparenchymal pulmonary mononuclear cells. The levels of TGF-beta transcripts among alveolar macrophages were increased 1 hr following blood loss, and increase in IL-1 alpha transcripts was found starting 2 hr posthemorrhage. Cells from Peyer's patches showed significant increases in mRNA levels for IL-1 beta, IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IFN-gamma, and TGF-beta during the 4 hr following hemorrhage. Significant increases in mRNA levels for IL-1 beta, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta were present within 4 hr of blood loss among cells isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes. The expression of mRNA for most cytokines was not significantly altered in splenocytes or peripheral blood mononuclear cells at any time point following hemorrhage. These experiments demonstrate that blood loss, even if resuscitated, produces significant increases in proinflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokine gene transcription as early as 1 hr following hemorrhage. These posthemorrhage alterations in cytokine mRNA expression were particularly prominent at mucosal sites, suggesting a mechanism for the increased incidence of pulmonary and intestinal involvement in organ system failure following severe blood loss and injury.