mediates pathogenic inflammatory responses to intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol 299: G833-G843, 2010. First published August 5, 2010 doi:10.1152/ajpgi.00065.2010.-Acute lung injury (ALI) and the development of the multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) are major causes of death in trauma patients. Gut inflammation and loss of gut barrier function as a consequence of splanchnic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) have been implicated as the initial triggering events that contribute to the development of the systemic inflammatory response, ALI, and MODS. Since hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1) is a key regulator of the physiological and pathophysiological response to hypoxia, we asked whether HIF-1 plays a proximal role in the induction of gut injury and subsequent lung injury. Utilizing partially HIF-1␣-deficient mice in a global trauma hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) model, we found that HIF-1 activation was necessary for the development of gut injury and that the prevention of gut injury was associated with an abrogation of lung injury. Specifically, in vivo studies demonstrated that partial HIF-1␣ deficiency ameliorated T/HS-induced increases in intestinal permeability, bacterial translocation, and caspase-3 activation. Lastly, partial HIF-1␣ deficiency reduced TNF-␣, IL-1␤, cyclooxygenase-2, and inducible nitric oxide synthase levels in the ileal mucosa after T/HS whereas IL-1␤ mRNA levels were reduced in the lung after T/HS. This study indicates that prolonged intestinal HIF-1 activation is a proximal regulator of I/R-induced gut mucosal injury and gut-induced lung injury. Consequently, these results provide unique information on the initiating events in trauma-hemorrhagic shock-induced ALI and MODS as well as potential therapeutic insights. hemorrhagic shock; inflammation; multiple organ dysfunction syndrome; acute lung injury IN PATIENTS SUSTAINING major trauma, the development of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple organ dysfunction (MODS) is a major clinical problem resulting in 50 -80% of all deaths in surgical intensive care units. Since the pathophysiology of this syndrome remains incompletely understood and therapy remains largely supportive (16), studies focusing on the basic biology of traumainduced SIRS, organ injury/dysfunction, and MODS have been major areas of investigation. These mechanistic studies have generated several working hypotheses, one of which is the gut hypothesis of MODS. A key element in the gut hypothesis of MODS is that a splanchnic ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) insult leading to gut inflammation and loss of barrier function is the initial triggering event that turns the gut into the "motor" of MODS (19). However, the exact mechanisms by which gut I/R leads to intestinal injury and how an intestinal ischemic insult is transduced into a systemic inflammatory response remains incomplete. To date, the majority of the molecular and cellular studies investigating shock-induced gut injury and gut-induced MODS have focused pr...

BackgroundInjurious non-microbial factors released from the stressed gut during shocked states contribute to the development of acute lung injury (ALI) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). Since Toll-like receptors (TLR) act as sensors of tissue injury as well as microbial invasion and TLR4 signaling occurs in both sepsis and noninfectious models of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, we hypothesized that factors in the intestinal mesenteric lymph after trauma hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) mediate gut-induced lung injury via TLR4 activation.Methods/Principal FindingsThe concept that factors in T/HS lymph exiting the gut recreates ALI is evidenced by our findings that the infusion of porcine lymph, collected from animals subjected to global T/HS injury, into naïve wildtype (WT) mice induced lung injury. Using C3H/HeJ mice that harbor a TLR4 mutation, we found that TLR4 activation was necessary for the development of T/HS porcine lymph-induced lung injury as determined by Evan's blue dye (EBD) lung permeability and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels as well as the induction of the injurious pulmonary iNOS response. TRIF and Myd88 deficiency fully and partially attenuated T/HS lymph-induced increases in lung permeability respectively. Additional studies in TLR2 deficient mice showed that TLR2 activation was not involved in the pathology of T/HS lymph-induced lung injury. Lastly, the lymph samples were devoid of bacteria, endotoxin and bacterial DNA and passage of lymph through an endotoxin removal column did not abrogate the ability of T/HS lymph to cause lung injury in naïve mice.Conclusions/SignificanceOur findings suggest that non-microbial factors in the intestinal mesenteric lymph after T/HS are capable of recreating T/HS-induced lung injury via TLR4 activation.

Interactions of Toll-like receptors (TLR) with non-microbial factors plays a major role in the pathogenesis of early trauma-hemorrhagic shock (T/HS)-induced organ injury and inflammation. Thus, we tested the hypothesis that TLR4 mutant (TLR4mut) mice would be more resistant to T/HS-induced gut injury and neutrophil (PMN) priming than their wild-type (WT) littermates and found that both were significantly reduced in the TLR4mut mice. Additionally, the in vivo and ex vivo PMN priming effect of T/HS intestinal lymph observed in the WT mice was abrogated in TLR4mut mice as well the TRIFmut deficient mice and partially attenuated in Myd88-/- mice suggesting that TRIF activation played a more predominant role than MyD88 in T/HS lymph-induced PMN priming. PMN depletion studies showed that T/HS lymph-induced acute lung injury (ALI) was PMN-dependent, since lung injury was totally abrogated in PMN-depleted animals. Since the lymph samples were sterile and devoid of endotoxin or bacterial DNA, we investigated whether the effects of T/HS lymph was related to endogenous non-microbial TLR4 ligands. HMGB1, heat shock protein (Hsp)-70, Hsp27 and hyaluronic acid, since all have been implicated in ischemia-reperfusion-induced tissue injury. None of these ‘danger’ proteins appeared to be involved, since their levels were similar between the sham and shock lymph samples. In conclusion, TLR4 activation is important in T/HS-induced gut injury and in T/HS lymph-induced PMN priming and lung injury. However, the T/HS-associated effects of TLR4 on gut barrier dysfunction can be uncoupled from the T/HS lymph-associated effects of TLR4 on PMN priming.

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It is well documented that the gut injury plays a critical role in the development of systemic inflammation and distant organ injury in conditions associated with splanchnic ischemia. Consequently understanding the mechanisms leading to gut injury is important. In this context, recent work suggests a protective role for the intestinal mucus layer and an injury-inducing role for luminal pancreatic proteases. Thus, we explored the role of the mucus layer in gut barrier function by observing how the removal of the mucus layer affects ischemia/reperfusion-mediated gut injury in rats as well as the potential role of luminal pancreatic proteases in the pathogenesis of gut injury. Ischemia was induced by the ligation of blood vessels to segments of the ileum for 45 min, followed by up to three hours of reperfusion. The ileal segments were divided into 5 groups. These included a non-ischemic control, ischemic segments exposed to saline, the mucolytic N-acetylcholine (NAC), pancreatic proteases or NAC plus pancreatic proteases. Changes in gut barrier function were assessed by the permeation of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (MW 4000 Da; FD4) in ileal everted sacs. Gut injury was measured morphologically and by the luminal content of protein, DNA and hemoglobin. The mucus layer was assessed functionally by measuring its hydrophobicity and morphologically. Gut barrier function was promptly and effectively re-established during reperfusion, which was accompanied by the restoration of the mucus layer. In contrast, treatment of the gut with the mucolytic NAC for 10 min during ischemia resulted in a failure of mucus restitution and further increases in gut permeability and injury. The presence of digestive proteases by themselves did not exacerbate gut injury but in combination with NAC, they caused an even greater increase in gut injury and permeability. These results suggest that the mucus layer not only serves as a barrier between the luminal contents and gut surface epithelia, but also plays a critical role in the maintenance and restitution of gut barrier function.