Background: We have previously documented that lymphatic duct division protects against shock-induced lung injury when tested 3 hours post-shock and that lymph collected at 3 hours post-shock increases endothelial cell monolayer permeability. However, whether lymph collected at other time points post-shock also increases endothelial cell permeability is not known. We tested the protective effects of lymphatic division on lung permeability at 6, 12, and 24 hours post-shock and the ability of lymph collected before, during, and hourly (up to 6 hours) after shock to increase endothelial cell monolayer permeability.
Methods: At 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours after sham or actual shock (30 mm Hg for 90 min), lung permeability was measured by using Evans blue dye in rats subjected to sham or actual mesenteric duct ligation. In separate experiments, the ability of lymph collected from rats subjected to shock or sham shock to increase human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) monolayer permeability to a 40 kd dextran rhodamine permeability probe. Lymph was tested at 10% and 1% concentrations.
Results: Hemorrhagic shock induced a 3- to 4-fold increase in lung permeability compared with sham-shock rats when tested at 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours post-shock. Lymphatic division prevented this increase in lung permeability at each of these time points. Sham shock lymph did not increase HUVEC permeability, while lymph from the shocked rats did, whether tested at 1% or 10%. Lymph samples collected during the shock period and hourly for 6 hours post-shock all increased HUVEC permeability; however, the greatest relative increase in HUVEC permeability was observed in the 3- and 6- hour post-shock samples.
Conclusions: Lung injury after hemorrhagic shock appears to be caused by toxic factors carried in the mesenteric lymph, and factors capable of increasing HUVEC permeability initially appear in the lymph during the shock period and increase over time.