P-selectin is up-regulated in vital organs during murine traumatic shock

Murine traumatic shock is associated with increased adherence of neutrophils to the vascular endothelium resulting in neutrophil infiltration and tissue damage. We examined the effects of trauma on the expression of the adhesion molecule P-selectin in several vital organs (i.e., heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and small intestine) 2 h after induction of Noble-Collip drum trauma in anesthetized rats. Total RNA was extracted from these organs and P-selectin mRNA was quantified by RNase protection assays. P-selectin mRNA was significantly increased over control nontraumatized, anesthetized rats in all vital organs (P<0.05 or less), with the largest increase occurring in the lung (P<0.01). Immunohistochemical analysis showed increased expression of P-selectin protein in postcapillary venules of all vital organs after trauma. To further investigate the possible mechanisms of increased P-selectin mRNA transcription promoter activity during trauma, we quantified binding of proteins from nuclear extracts to the kappaB site (-218GGGGGTGACCC[-207]) of the P-selectin gene by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. We confirmed the results of NF-kappaB binding by demonstrating increases in p50 and p52, as well as decreases in IkappaB in cytoplasmic and nuclear extracts from the lungs of trauma rats by Western blotting. Increased activity of the transcription factor, nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), occurred in all vital organs of the trauma rats compared to sham-operated controls. Our findings suggest that severe trauma results in up-regulation of P-selectin at the transcriptional level, which is partly controlled by an NF-kappaB-responsive element in the region of the P-selectin promoter. This increased activation of NF-kappB binding may contribute to the widespread increases in P-selectin expression observed in several vital organs 2 h after trauma, which in turn may play a key role in the pathogenesis of traumatic shock.