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Journal of The Korean Society of Emergency Medicine 2003;14(1): 17-22. |
| Alteration of Interleukin-6 Levels in Brain Tissue and Serum of Rats after an Experimental Brain Contusion |
| Byeong Min Jeon, Yang Weon Kim, Byung Chan Jeon |
1Department of Emergency Medicine, College of Medicine, Inje University, Busan, Korea. bmjed@ijnc.inje.ac.kr
2Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine, Kosin University, Busan, Korea. |
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| ABSTRACT |
PURPOSE:
Cerebral contusion is often associated with delayed edema, ischemia, demyelination, and secondary impairment in the neurological function. Early prediction of the outcome for patients with diverse critical illnesses has long been a concern of intensive care unit physicians. Recently, the systemic release of host-derived inflammatory mediators has been used for prognosis assessment in patients with multiple infections, burn injury, and systemic infection.
Experimental investigations have revealed the importance of free radicals and calcium currents in cellular damage. Also experimental injuries have caused an early production of cytokines. This study was undertaken to analyze the production of interleukin-6 in the brain and in plasma following a brain contusion.
METHODS:
Sixty male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, each weighing 300-350 g were used in an experimental group following brain contusion, and 18 SD rats were used as a control group following a sham operation. Intracerebral IL-6 and plasma IL-6 were measured by using the ELISA method with a rat IL-6 kit at 3, 6, 24, 48, and 72 hours after the brain contusion.
After contusion, the brains were fixed by perfusion via the carotid artery with 40% formaldehyde, glacial acetic acid, and 100% ethanol (1:1:8) at a flow rate of 25 ml/min and stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histologic examination.
RESULTS:
Brain IL-6 levels increased to reach a maximum of 160.23 pg/ml, at 6 hour after brain trauma. Plasma IL-6 levels increased to 70.02 pg/ml at 3 hour following brain contusion.
CONCLUSION:
The elevated brain IL-6 level in the injured rat does not seem to reflect a systemic inflammation. Although plasma IL-6 is detected in the sham-operated and the traumatized rats, the levels are too low to account for the increase observed in the brain cortex. This finding shows that the increase in brain IL-6 is related to the dynamics of brain contusion. |
| Key words:
Brain contusion, Brain, Plasma, IL-6 |
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