Which one is more effective for the treatment of rat sepsis model: thalidomide or etanercept?

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the protective effect of selected treatment agents on liver injury in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced rat sepsis model. BACKGROUND: The sepsis includes complex inflammatory responses between a microbial pathogen and the host immune system, and leads to organ failure and also death. METHODS: This study was performed with 29 male Wistar Albino rats. Rats were divided randomly into five groups: Sham group, LPS-treated sepsis group, LPS+thalidomide treated group, LPS+etanercept treated group and LPS+thalidomide+etanercept treated group, respectively. Liver tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels were determined by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) method. The expression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kappa B) was performed using western blot analysis. RESULTS: The levels of tissue TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6 were found statistically significantly higher in sepsis group than in the sham group. TNF-alpha levels were found statistically significantly decreased in LPS+etanercept and LPS+thalidomide+etanercept treated groups when compared with LPS group (p < 0.05). For IL-1 beta and IL-6 levels a statistically significant decline was observed in the LPS+thalidomide and LPS+etanercept treated groups compared to the LPS group (p < 0.05). Expression of NF-kappa B protein in liver tissue was significantly elevated in the LPS group compared to sham group (p < 0.001). In treatment groups, a marked decrease was observed in NF-kappa B protein expression. CONLUSION: The results of this investigation suggested that etanercept and thalidomide administration may have a beneficial effect on LPS-induced sepsis. So, the present study may have significant clinical relevance, but clinical trials are needed to confirm these results (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 36). Text in PDF www.elis.sk.