INTRODUCTION
In the past 22 years, there were in excess of 10 million cases of sepsis reported in the United States alone (1 2 septic shock or multiple system organ failure (MSOF), in particular, early pulmonary dysfunction in the form of the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS ) (3 ARDS develops in 30% to 43% of patients with severe sepsis and its manifestations correlate with an increased mortality (4
ARDS originates when a traumatic event such as sepsis causes the release of proinflammatory mediators, predominately cytokines, initiating a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS ) that ultimately results in recruitment of neutrophils into the pulmonary vasculature (5 elastase (NE) that damage the alveolar-capillary basement membrane, resulting in the high-permeability pulmonary edema that is the hallmark of ARDS (6-8 9 10 ARDS and only one agent, activated protein C (Xigris®), approved to treat severe sepsis.
The redundancy of released inflammatory mediators in sepsis and ARDS has limited the efficacy of drug therapies that target one specific mediator. In two previous studies using acute animal models of pulmonary injury, we demonstrated that blocking the proteases (NE, MMP-2, and MMP-9) with a unique modified tetracycline , COL-3 , prevented the increase in pulmonary vascular permeability and, ultimately, ARDS (9, 11 COL-3 improved survival in a dose-dependent fashion when given at the time of injury, but before the onset of symptoms and significantly reduced lung tissue MMP-2 and MMP-9 levels (12 ARDS ), we still needed to test the efficacy of COL-3 in a clinically applicable, insidious onset animal model before moving to clinical trials.
To this end, we developed a “two-hit” porcine model of sepsis plus gut ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury that parallels the pathogenesis of septic shock and ARDS in humans over a 48-h time period (13 COL-3 would prevent the development of ARDS in treated animals by inhibiting multiple inflammatory mediators, including the proteases NE, MMP-2, and MMP-9.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Animal preparation
Female Yorkshire pigs (25-35 kg) were premedicated with glycopyrulate (0.01 mg/kg, i.m.) 10 min before intubations and were then anesthetized with xylazine (2 mg/kg, i.m.) and thiopental (10 mg/kg, i.v.). After intubation, the animals were ventilated with oxygen (1-2 L) delivered via a Veterinary Anesthesia Ventilator (Hallowell EMC; Matrix Medical, Orchard Park, NY). Continuous inhalation anesthesia was maintained using 1% to 3% isoflurane.
This animal model and protocol have been described in detail elsewhere (13
After placement of the catheters, baseline heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and temperature were obtained. Blood samples were obtained for blood culture, a complete blood count with differential, a lactate level, and cytokine and protease determination. Additionally, baseline arterial systemic pressure and an arterial blood gas were also obtained. A midline abdominal incision was made and the peritoneum was opened. A cystostomy was performed for insertion of a Foley catheter for monitoring continuous urine output. A Foley catheter was not inserted into the control pigs because, unlike the animals with superior mesenteric artery occlusion (SMA) + fecal blood clot (FC) that were lethargic for 48 h, the control animals were very active and would not tolerate the Foley.
The superior mesenteric artery was then clamped for 30 min to induce intestinal ischemia. The cecum was identified and eviscerated from the peritoneum and a 2-cm enterotomy was performed to obtain 0.5 mL/kg of feces that would be combined with 2 mL/kg of blood to create an FC. The enterotomy was allowed to remain patent. The clot was implanted into the lower portion of the abdominal cavity.
Experimental protocol
Animals were randomized into three groups the day before the surgery: experimental SMA + FC group (n = 7), consisting of gut ischemia/reperfusion injury in the form of cross-clamping of the superior mesenteric artery for 30 min followed by the intraperitoneal placement of an FC; 4-dedimethylaminosancycline or 6-demethyl-6-deoxy-4 dedimethylamino-tetracycline (COL-3 ) treatment group (SMA + FC + COL, n = 5) in which animals had COL-3 (200 mg/kg body weight) added to their food 12 h before surgery; and the control group (n = 3) was subjected to the identical surgery (except that the Foley catheter was not inserted) as groups 1 and 2 except that no placement of an FC and no clamping of the superior mesenteric artery. The route of COL-3 administration was necessary because COL-3 is currently only available in oral formulation and no additional COL-3 was given thereafter. COL-3 is a synthetic, nonantimicrobial derivative of the perhydronapthacene family of tetracycline-based compounds with a molecular weight of 371 (Fig. 1 ). During the surgical procedure, pigs received a fluid bolus of lactated Ringer's (25 mL/kg i.v. over 30 min) and broad-spectrum antibiotics (2 g of ampicillin i.v.; Bristol Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ; and 500 mg of metronidazole i.v.; Baxter, Deerfield, IL).
FIG. 1: Molecular structure of COL-3 .
After full recovery from anesthesia, pigs were extubated and taken to an animal intensive care unit where they were followed continuously for 48 h. Twelve hours postsurgery, pigs received another dose of fluids (25 mL/kg i.v.) and antibiotics (2 g of ampicillin and 500 mg of metronidazole i.v.). This same regimen of fluids and antibiotics was given twice a day for the remainder of the experiment. Additional fluids (500 mL of lactated Ringer's i.v.) were administered if urine output decreased to less than 0.5 mL/kg/h or if mean arterial pressure (MAP) fell below 70 mmHg. The use of vasopressors was not permitted in this study. Pigs received pain medication in the form of i.v. buprenorphine HCL at 0.02 mg/kg every 6 h. Pigs were monitored 24 h a day with daily blood sampling for blood cultures, a complete blood count with differential, a lactate level, cytokine expression, and protease (NE, MMP-2, and MMP-9) determination. In addition, systemic arterial pressure, arterial blood gases, urine output, HR (EKG leads were placed on the pigs after surgery), RR, and temperature were monitored continuously and were recorded every 6 h along with a clinical assessment.
Development of ARDS
If the PaO2 /FiO2 (P/F) ratio decreased to less than 250 mmHg, pigs were anesthetized (with i.v. pentobarbital) and placed on a mechanical ventilator (Galileo; Hamilton Medical Inc., Reno, NV) with volume-controlled ventilation (Vt 10 mL/kg), an RR necessary to maintain PCO2 between 35 and 40 torr and a positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 3 cm H2 O. The mean FiO2 was 69.6% ± 6.2%. Pulmonary parameters (peak airway pressure, plateau airway pressure, static compliance, and airway resistance to inspiratory flow) were measured. Peak airway pressure by definition was the highest airway pressure measured during inspiration, plateau pressure was measured after an inspiratory pause of 5% of the total inspiratory time, and static compliance was calculated by dividing the plateau pressure by the tidal volume measured by the expiratory flow sensor. Anesthesia was maintained by a continuous infusion of pentobarbital (6 mg/kg/h) delivered intravenously by a Harvard infusion pump (model 907; Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA).
Once anesthetized and on the ventilator, a 7-French, flow-directed Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheter was passed through the right femoral vein into the pulmonary artery for determination of mixed venous blood gas (SVO2 ), arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2 ), mean pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary artery wedge pressure, and cardiac output (CO). Alveolar-arterial PaO2 difference (A-a gradient) and pulmonary shunt fraction were determined using an Explorer Monitor (Baxter West Caldrun, NJ). EKG was measured with a pacemaker/defibrillator (Zoll Medical Gillette, NJ). Animals placed on the ventilator were followed and supported similar to unventilated animals until the end of the experiment (48 h). All pigs were euthanized with a pentobarbital overdose (150 mg/kg) 48 h postsurgery and the lungs and heart were removed en bloc with the lungs dissected free.
Plasma COL-3 measurement
The chemically modified tetracycline COL-3 (200 mg/kg body weight; CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals, Newtown, PA) was fed to animals the night before surgery. To assess for in vivo concentration of COL-3 , 50-μL samples of plasma were obtained daily from the serum and incubated with 100 μL of precooled (−10°C) precipitating solution containing acetonitrile-methanol-0.5 M oxalic acid (60:30:10, v/v). The mixture was then centrifuged at 10,000 rpm for 5 min and the supernatant was collected for reverse phase HPLC analysis. COL-3 concentration was determined by injecting 25 μL of the supernatant into the HPLC system containing a C18 column (Waters System New Haven, CT) and eluted with acetonitrile:methanol (30:20) containing 5 mM oxalic acid at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. Final concentration was quantified by UV detection with peak area integration at 350 nm. The limit of detection in this system was 0.2 μg/mL. The assay described above was a modification of the technique described by us previously to measure different COLs in blood sera (14
Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein measurement
At necropsy, BALF was obtained for protein concentration in the following manner. The right middle lobe bronchus was cannulated and infused with 60 mL of saline as three aliquots of 20 mL each. Approximately 80% of the lavage fluid was recovered. Each aliquot was injected briskly and withdrawn slowly three times to obtain an optimal BALF specimen. The combined aliquots were centrifuged at 1000g for 10 min to remove cells, and the supernatant was frozen at −70°C for subsequent biochemical analysis. BALF protein analysis was based on the Bradford protein assay (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA) with albumin as the standard. Standards ranged from 0 to 1000 μg/mL. Twenty milliliters of Coomassie Blue dye solution was diluted to 100 mL with saline. Ten microliters of standard solution or 10 mL of BALF was added to 5 mL of Coomassie Blue solution and the optical density was read at 590 nm in a spectrophotometer. The results were reported as micrograms of protein per milliliters of BALF.
MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity
The methods for purification of gelatinase and its assay by gelatin zymography have been fully described elsewhere (15 2 at 37°C. Proteinases were easily identified as clear bands against a dark Coomassie Blue-stained background. Because of the effect of SDS, this zymography allows the determination of the molecular species of latent, activated, and complexed forms of gelatinases. The gelatin zymograms were then densitometrically scanned using a scientific imaging system (Eastman-Kodak, Rochester, NY) to determine the relative activity of MMP-9 and MMP-2. The data were presented as densitometric units.
Elastase activityElastase activity was determined in serum drawn at baseline and daily and in BALF obtained at necropsy. Specifically, elastase activity was determined by incubating 100 μL of serum or BALF and 400 μL of 1.25 mM methoxy succinyl-ala-pro-val-p -nitroanilide (specific synthetic elastase substrate) in a 96-well enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) plate at 37°C for 18 h. After incubation, the optical density was read at 405 nm. Data were expressed as micromoles elastase substrate degraded per milligram of protein per hour. These methods are described in full detail elsewhere (16
Serum/BALF for TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10
Serum was drawn at baseline and daily to determine serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. Additionally, levels of all cytokines were determined in BALF. Serum and BAL levels of all cytokines were determined by ELISA, using a porcine cytokine ELISA kit (Endogen, Woburn, MA) according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Data was expressed in concentration as picograms per milliliter.
Histology
The lungs were assessed for pathologic injury in the following fashion. The left lower lobe bronchus was cannulated and the left lower lobe was inflated to a pressure of 25 cm H2 O with 10% formalin. The cannula was clamped and the lung was stored in formalin at room temperature for 24 h. The tissue was blocked in paraffin, and serial sections were made for staining with hematoxylin and eosin. The lung tissue in each slide preparation was evaluated without knowledge of the treatment group from which it came. The slides were reviewed at low magnification for an overview to exclude sections containing bronchi, connective tissue, large blood vessels, and areas of confluent atelectasis, so that only regions reflecting the degree and stage of parenchymal injury would be evaluated. The areas of the slides that were not excluded were assessed at high magnification (×400) in the following manner. Five high-power fields (HPF) were randomly sampled. Features of alveolar wall thickening, intra-alveolar edema fluid, and the number of neutrophils were noted in each of the five HPF. Specifically, alveolar wall thickening, defined as greater than two cell layers thick, was graded as A0” (absent) or A1” (present) in each field. Intra-alveolar edema fluid, defined as homogenous or fibrillar proteinaceous staining within the alveoli, was graded as A0” (absent) or A1” (present) in each field. A total score/5HPF for alveolar wall thickening and intra-alveolar edema fluid was recorded for each animal. For example, in a given animal, if all five HPF evaluated demonstrated alveolar wall thickening and intra-alveolar edema fluid, the maximum score recorded would be 5/5HPF for each criteria. The total number of neutrophils was counted in each of the five HPFs and are expressed as the total number neutrophils/5HPF for each animal.
Pulmonary edema
To assess for evidence of pulmonary edema, representative tissue samples from the right lower and upper lobes and the left upper lobe were sharply dissected free of nonparenchymal tissue. Samples from the lung of each animal were placed in a dish and weighed, dried in an oven at 65°C for 24 h, and weighed again. This was repeated until there was no weight change over a 24-h period at which time the samples were determined to be dry. Lung water was expressed as a wet-to-dry weight ratio (W/D).
Statistics
All data are expressed as means ± SE. A repeat analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the difference between time points within each group for appropriate variables. Significant differences between the two groups at the end of each series of experiments for appropriate variables were determined by ANOVA. Whenever the F ratio indicated a significant difference, a Newman-Keul's post hoc test was used to identify the individual differences. Significance was assumed if the probability of the null hypothesis was less than 5% (P < 0.05).
Vertebrate animals
Vertebrate animal experiments described in this study were performed in accordance with the National Institutes of Health guidelines for the use of experimental animals in research. The protocol was approved by the Committee for the Humane Use of Animals at Upstate Medical University.
RESULTS
Protocol
Animals remained unanesthetized until the P/F ratio fell below 250. At this point, the animal was anesthetized, a Swan-Ganz catheter was placed in the pulmonary artery, and the animal was placed on mechanical ventilation. Thus, in the following tables, the number of animals (n) changes for each parameter measured as animals reached criteria and were placed on mechanical ventilation. Thus, none of the control animals and only one of the COL-3 -treated animals have any lung or pulmonary pressure data (Tables 1 and 2 ) until the 48-h reading because their P/F ratio did not fall below 250 throughout the study. When an animal met criteria (or at 48 h postsurgery), it was placed on volume-controlled ventilation (Vt 10 mL/kg) with an RR necessary to maintain PCO2 between 35 and 40 torr and a positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) of 3 cm H2 O. No attempt was made to use protective modes of mechanical ventilation.
Table 1: Hemodynamic and blood chemistry parameters
Table 2: Pulmonary parameters
Sepsis
All animals that were subjected to SMA + FC, regardless if they were treated with COL-3 , developed bacteremia. Bacteria cultured from the blood included Klebsiella pneumoniae , Serratia marcescens , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Streptococcus , Aeromonas hydrophila , Escherichia coli , and Staphylococcus . There was a significant increase in white cell count (control, 12.8 ± 1.4 K/μL; SMA + FC, 19 ± 1.2* K/μL; SMA + FC + COL, 18.9 ± 1.7* K/μL; *P < 0.05 versus control, 48 h postinjury), HR, and temperature in both groups injured by SMA + FC (Table 1 ).
The increase in RR was blocked by COL-3 treatment (Table 1 , 14 and 24 h postinjury, before animals were placed on the ventilator). Furthermore, COL-3 limited the platelet decrease seen in the SMA + FC group (control, 361 ± 12 K/μL, SMA + FC + COL, 250 ± 51 K/μL; SMA + FC, 95 ± 18 K/μL). COL-3 blood concentration was: day 1, 3.1 ± 0.3 μg/mL; day 2, 4.9 ± 1.0 μg/mL; and day 3, 3.1 ± 1.0 μg/mL. COL-3 concentration was zero in the other groups.
Septic shock Septic shock in the untreated animals (SMA + FC) was evidenced by a fall in systemic blood pressure (Fig. 2 ). COL-3 treatment prevented the fall in blood pressure (Fig. 2 ) and also significantly reduced blood lactate levels (control, 1.5 ± 0.4 mmol/L; SMA + FC + COL, 2.0 ± 0.2 mmol/L; SMA + FC, 5.5 ± 1.3* mmol/L, *P < 0.05 versus both groups) and increased urine output (SMA + FC, 53 ± 8 mL/h; SMA + FC + COL, 251 ± 30* ml/h; *P < 0.05 versus SMA + FC) 48 h postinjury.
FIG. 2: Mean arterial blood pressure. Data are mean ± SE. # P < 0.05 versus all groups.
In addition, COL-3 blocked the pH, base deficit, systolic and diastolic arterial blood pressure, pulmonary arterial pressure, and CO changes caused by SMA + FC (Table 1 ). There was no significant change in pulmonary artery wedge pressure in any group (Table 1 ). Thus, the COL-3 -treated animals were bacteremic but did not develop septic shock .
Lung function
SMA + FC caused serious lung injury evidenced by a significant increase in plateau pressure, airway resistance, A-a gradient, pulmonary shunt and decrease in lung compliance, and P/F ratio (Table 2 and Fig. 3 ). COL-3 completely prevented all of the pathologic changes induced by SMA + FC in lung function (Table 2 and Fig. 3 ).
FIG. 3: Arterial oxygenation expressed as P/F ratio (PaO2 /FiO2 ). Data are mean ± SE. † P < 0.05 versus all groups.
BALF cytokine and protease concentration
COL-3 (SMA + FC + COL) significantly blocked the increase in IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and NE concentrations in BALF compared with the SMA + FC group (Table 3 ). IL-1 concentrations were not significantly different in any group (Table 3 ). TNFα levels were undetectable in BALF in all groups (data not shown). COL-3 reduced BALF MMP-2 by 63% and MMP-9 by 34% compared with the SMA + FC group, but these changes were not statistically significant (Table 3 ).
Plasma cytokine and protease concentration
There was no significant difference between groups in plasma NE, MMP-2, MMP-9, IL-8, or IL-10 levels in any group (Table 4 ). However, SMA + FC significantly increased plasma IL-1 and IL-6 concentrations on day 3. IL-1 was also increased on day 3 in the SMA + FC + COL group (Table 4 ). TNFα levels were undetectable in plasma at any time in all groups (data not shown).
Table 4: Plasma proteases and cytokines
Histology
Treatment with COL-3 (SMA + FC + COL) significantly reduced interstitial alveolar wall thickness and intra-alveolar edema compared with the untreated group (SMA + FC; Table 5 and Fig. 4 ). Neutrophil recruitment into the lung was significantly increased in the SMA + FC groups compared with the control group, and COL-3 treatment (SMA + FC + COL) did not significantly reduce this influx of neutrophils (Table 5 ).
Table 5: Pulmonary histology
FIG. 4: (A) Control group demonstrating the thin alveolar walls and fully inflated alveoli typical of normal lungs. (B) SMA + FC group showing thickened and congested alveolar walls, intra-alveolar edema, and collapsed alveoli consistent with acute lung injury. (C) COL-3 treatment (SMA + FC + COL) prevented all of the pathologic changes seen in the SMA + FC group.
Pulmonary edema
Lung water assessed as the W/D was significantly increased in the SMA + FC group compared with the control and COL-3 -treated groups (Fig. 5 ). Although the pulmonary artery pressure was significantly increased in the SMA + FC group, the pulmonary capillary wedge pressure was not. This plus the fact that BALF protein was significantly greater in the SMA + FC (Table 3 ) compared with the control or COL-treated group suggests a high-permeability edema typical of ARDS .
FIG. 5: Pulmonary edema expressed as a wet-to-dry weight ratio. Data are mean ± SE. # P < 0.05 versus all groups.
DISCUSSION
The most important finding in this study is that prophylactic COL-3 completely prevented the lung injury associated with sepsis-induced ARDS and unexpectedly also prevented development of septic shock in spite of positive blood cultures. The protective effect of COL-3 was very dramatic and, in fact, most parameters in the COL-3 -treated group were not significantly different from control. These data demonstrate that the combined injury of an FC plus SMA causes septic shock and ARDS in pigs in a time sequence and pathologic outcome analogous to septic shock and ARDS in humans. COL-3 not only prevents sepsis-induced ARDS , but it also prevents the deleterious systemic manifestations of septic shock . The gross photograph (Fig. 6 ) summarizes the near total protection offered the lung by COL-3 .
FIG. 6: Gross photos of lungs in the SMA + FC (A) and SMA + FC + COL (B) groups.
Importance of the sepsis model
An animal model that accurately duplicates the complex inflammatory and hemodynamic response that occurs in humans over several days during the development of septic shock and ARDS is critical to the understanding of sepsis pathophysiology (13 17 17 17
The importance of using a “good evidence” animal model was seen in the preclinical animal trials for the antiendotoxin, HA-1A (18 19 20 septic shock was used to test the efficacy of HA-1A, the results were very similar to the clinical trial and actually showed a decreased survival in the HA-1A-treated animals (18
The consensus is that a chronic, insidious-onset large animal model that mimics the pathogenesis and time course of human septic shock and sepsis-induced ARDS is superior to small animal acute sepsis models as predictors of clinical efficacy (17 septic shock and ARDS (17 SIRS to septic shock and finally to organ dysfunction (Figs. 2-6 and Tables 1-4 ). All pigs subjected to SMA + FC and not treated with COL-3 met the ARDS consensus conference criteria for acute lung injury (i.e., P/F < 250) (21 ARDS (Figs. 4 and 6 ). These data, combined with data from our initial work (13
Prophylactic treatment strategy
The ability to intervene before the onset of septic shock or ARDS is critical because it has been shown that pharmacologic intervention after disease onset is ineffective (10, 22 COL-3 is an ideal candidate for prophylaxis treatment in patients at high risk for developing septic shock and/or ARDS (this includes patients with severe trauma, pancreatitis, major burns, or septicemia) because of its low toxicity and limited expense. COL-3 has already been studied in a phase I trial sponsored by the National Cancer Institution and has been reported to exhibit excellent pharmacokinetics in cancer patients and has shown efficacy in patients with Kaposi's sarcoma (23
Proteases as a mechanism of sepsis-induced ARDS
Numerous animal studies have also demonstrated the importance of MMPs in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced ARDS (9, 11, 12, 24, 25 9, 11, 12 24 25 ARDS . Elevated plasma NE levels are present in patients within minutes of serious trauma, and NE levels correlate with subsequent lung injury and progression to ARDS (26, 27
COL-3 mechanism of actionCOL-3 has been shown to inhibit MMP-2 and MMP-9 in several tissue types, including neutrophils and osteoclasts, cancer cells, and keratinocytes (for review, see Ref. 28). COL-3 appears to function as an MMP inhibitor by interfering with the mature active enzyme through competitive and noncompetitive chelation of the metal ions (Zn2+ and Ca2+ ), which are required for MMP activity, by interfering with the processing of the inactive precursors of MMPs into the mature enzymes, and by the down-regulating of MMP expression at the mRNA level (for review, see Ref. 28).
The impact of COL-3 on proteases in this study
Although the mechanism of COL-3 was not determined in this study, we nevertheless feel that NE and MMP inhibition by COL-3 play a major role. We have broken the inflammatory system down into initiators and effectors (9 2-9, 28
In this study, COL-3 significantly reduced NE concentrations in BALF and caused a significant trend toward reduction in MMP-2 (64% reduction, P = 0.291) and MMP-9 (34% reduction, P = 0.148) concentrations in BALF. NE was significantly elevated in the BALF of untreated animals and COL-3 significantly neutralized the increase BALF concentration of NE. These findings confirm those from our previous experiments (11
MMP-2 was increased more dramatically in the BALF than was MMP-9. This could be explained by the fact that MMP-9 is only found in neutrophils and MMP-2 is found in multiple cell types, including fibroblasts, macrophages, and epithelial and endothelial cells. Because neutrophil recruitment into the lung was not significantly different between the COL-3 -treated and untreated groups, one might not expect to find a significant difference between the two groups in terms of MMP-9 concentration. Increased MMP levels in the BALF were not as profound as those found in endotoxin (9, 11, 25 24 10, 17 9, 11, 25 24
Lanchou et al. (29 ARDS patients for 12 days. They demonstrated that the activity of these MMPs in the BALF is significantly reduced within 4 days from the time that ARDS is first diagnosed (29
Another possible explanation for the relatively low MMP levels in the SMA + FC group could be because zymography fails to examine MMP activity in the presence of endogenous inhibitors (24, 29 Table 3 ), COL-3 did affect a trend toward reduction in MMP-2 (64% reduction, P = 0.291) and MMP-9 (34% reduction, P < 0.148). NE was significantly elevated in the BALF of the SMA + FC group and was dramatically reduced with COL-3 treatment. Thus, inhibition of these proteases could be the mechanism by which COL-3 prevented ARDS in this study. However, COL-3 is pleiotropic, inhibiting multiple inflammatory mediators, and thus the exact mechanism of protection is unclear.
Other possible mechanisms of COL-3 protection
Although many biological agents, including TGF-β, interleukin 13, and dexamethasone, inhibit inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity, few agents exert as profound an effect as COL-3 on iNOS expression and NO synthesis. COL-3 exhibited a time- and dose-dependent inhibition of NO production in cultured rat mesangial cells exposed to interferon-γ and endotoxin (30 COL-3 is a scavenger of reactive oxygen species that would be directly protective and also have a secondary protective effect by preventing HOCl from oxidatively activating pro-MMPs (31 COL-3 has been observed to inhibit two other mediators of inflammation, phospholipase A2 (32 33
It is known that tetracyclines can inhibit secretion of cytokines (15, 34, 35 COL-3 , etc.) on cytokine release. Recent studies have shown that COL-3 was much more effective than doxycycline in suppressing proinflammatory cytokine production by human monocytes in cell culture (H.-M. Lee, LM Golub, unpublished observations). Because all of the above mediators have been show to play a role in sepsis pathogenesis (36 COL-3 prevented septic shock and ARDS in this study was by blocking some or all of the these inflammatory mediators.
The impact of COL-3 on cytokines in this study
In this study, COL-3 effected a significant decrease in BALF IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. In addition, COL-3 significantly reduced serum levels of IL-1 and IL-6 at 48 h post-SMA + FC. Preventing the increase in the inflammatory cytokines likely played a role, along with inhibition of NE and MMP, in the protective effect of COL-3 seen in these experiments. This study demonstrates that COL-3 has a dramatic impact on cytokine concentration in this sepsis + I/R model, which supports the data suggesting that tetracyclines in general and COL-3 specifically block cytokine increases in response to traumatic stimuli (15, 34, 35, 37 COL-3 -induced reduction in cytokines concentrations during sepsis is unknown.
CONCLUSIONS
This study used a novel clinically applicable animal model in which the development of septic shock and ARDS was chronic and closely mirrored the pathogenesis of septic shock and ARDS seen in humans. Injury without COL-3 treatment caused septic shock and ARDS in all animals, whereas COL-3 -treated animals were clinically indistinguishable from the control group. COL-3 is pleiotrophic, inhibiting numerous inflammatory mediators, making it difficult to pinpoint the exact mechanism of action; however, it may well be this pleiotrophic nature that is key to the effectiveness of COL-3 . Because of the relatively low cost and toxicity profile of COL-3 , we postulate that it can be delivered prophylactically at the time of trauma, similar to heparin for deep vein thrombus or histamine blocks for stress ulcers. This treatment strategy is directed at preventing the onset of septic shock and ARDS , which is preferable to treating these serious syndromes once they are developed. This work strongly suggests that COL-3 may reduce morbidity and mortality in patients at risk of developing sepsis or ARDS .
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