Effects of polyenylphosphatidylcholine on cytokines, nitrite/nitrate levels, antioxidant activity and lipid peroxidation in rats with sepsis

Objectives: To determine the effect of pretreatment with polyenylphosphatidylcholine (lecithin, PPC) on plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, total nitrite/nitrate (NOx), and tissue levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in septic rats. Design: Prospective, randomized, controlled animal study. Setting: University laboratory. Subjects: Forty-five Spraque-Dawley rats were divided into three groups: group C, sham-operated; group S, sepsis; and group P, sepsis pretreated with PPC. Interventions: Rats were made septic by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Group P rats were treated with PPC (100 mg/day orally) for 10 days before sepsis. Twenty-four hours later CLP, plasma concentrations of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-10 and plasma levels of NOx were measured. SOD and MDA were determined in liver, lung and heart homogenates. Measurements and main results: All rats in group P survived during the 24-h observation time after CLP, whereas survival rate in group S was 66.7% (10/15; P<0.05). PPC significantly reduced plasma levels of TNF-α (P=0.006), IL-6 (P=0.007), IL-10 (P=0.016), NOx (P<0.001), and tissue levels of MDA (P<0.001) in group P with respect to in group S. Tissue levels of SOD significantly increased in group P when compared with group S (P<0.001). Conclusions: These results show that PPC pretreatment exerts cumulative effects in decreasing the levels of cytokines, NOx, and tissue MDA concentrations, with a concomitant increase in survival in septic rats. Lecithin therapy may be a useful adjuvant therapy in controlling of the excessive production of the inflammatory cytokines in patients with severe sepsis. Descriptor: SIRS/sepsis, experimental studies.