The Effect Of Splenectomy On Th1, Th2 Cytokines In Celiac Infection Rats At Different Ages.

Objective:To observe the change of Th1 (TNF-α),Th2 (IL-10) cytokines in rats of different age with splenectomy and infection in different times.Methods:One hundred and twenty SD rats were divided into two groups, Group A:youth group (1 months) and Group B:junior (12 months), weight is about 150 g and 400 g respectively, each group had 60 rats. Each group were divided into two parts:splenectomized, sham operated. Two week after the operation, we selected six rats randomly from each group and the rest of the rats were carried out caecal ligation and puncture (CLP), measured TNF-αand IL-10 levels in serum with ELISA in different time points (3h, 6h 12h and 24h) after CLP. Moreover, pathological studies were performed. The expression of TNF-αand IL-10 in liver were observed by immunohistochemistry at different times.Results:1,After CLP, the death rate of rats under splenectomy reached 3.33% within 24 hours, while there was no death in rats with spleen.2,The rats in all had different degree of perennial infection and pathological changes of their important organs, the young rats which had splenectomized had the most obvious changes.3, TNF-a level in all the groups reached their maximum at the 3 hour after CLP and then dropped slowly. The level of TNF-a in all the groups in different time points was higher than that of before CLP and this was statistically significant difference. TNF-αlevel of Group A and Group B had the same trend, but TNF-a level in different time points had no obvious difference (P>0.05). As what can be seen from that, the TNF-αlevel in Group A was higher than that of Group B. The TNF-a level in splenectmized groups were much higher than that of spleen groups at the 3rd hour (P<0.05), no difference at the 6th hour after CLP, but at the time of the 12th hour after CLP, the concentration of TNF-a of rats in splenectmized groups was lower than that of spleen groups until the 24th hour, which was statistically significant difference (P<0.01).4,At the time of the 3 rd,6th,12th hour after CLP, the level of IL-10 was higher than that of before CLP in all groups (p<0.01), and the level of IL-10 were no difference between before CLP and the 24th hour after CLP in spleen groups. The level of IL-10 was no difference between Group A and Group B in different time points (P>0.05). The IL-10 level was no difference between splenectmized groups and spleen grpups at the 3rd hour (P>0.05). At the time of the 6th,12th,24th hour after CLP, the level of IL-10 in splenectmized groups was higher than that of spleen groups, which was statistically significant (P<0.01-0.05).5,After CLP, the expression of TNF-a of liver was higher than that of before CLP in all groups (P<0.01), it reached maximum at the 3rd hour after CLP, and then decreased smoothly. The expression of TNF-a of liver tissue was no difference between Group A and Group B in different time points. The expression of TNF-a of liver tissue in splenectmized groups was much higher than that of spleen groups at the 3rd hour (P<0.05). There was no difference between splenectmized groups and spleen groups at the 6th hour, but the expression of TNF-a of liver tissue in splenectmized groups was obviously lower than that of spleen groups at the 12th hour (P<0.05), especially at the 24th hour (P<0.01).6,The expression of IL-10 of liver tissue increased significantly after CLP. At the 3rd hour after CLP, it reached the peak value and then decreased smoothly in all groups and it was still higher than that of before CLP at the time of the 24th hour (P<0.01). Compared to Group A and Group B, the expression of IL-10 of liver tissue was no statistical significance. The expression of IL-10 of liver tissue was no difference between splenectmized groups and spleen groups at the 3rd hour (P>0.05). The expression of IL-10 of liver tissue in splenectmized groups was higher than that of spleen groups at the 6th,12th,24th hour after CLP(P<0.01-0.05).Conclusions:1. For celiac infection rats of different ages, the changes in their TNF-a and IL-10 level before and after splenectomy are very similar.2. The reduction of TNF-a and increase of IL-10 level in celiac infection rats of late stage are more likely to induce immunosuppression after splenectomy.3. The spleen plays an important role in modulating the inflammatory process, the ajusting ability of cytokines appear irregularity after splenectomy when facing endotoxin attack, which may be the pathogenesis of OPSI.