Quantitative assessment of retinochoroidal microvasculature in patients with carotid artery stenosis using OCT angiography.

PURPOSE: To investigate the alterations in retinochoroidal parameters measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) in patients with carotid artery stenosis (CAS) and assess their associations with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) data. METHOD: This study enrolled patients diagnosed with CAS and age-matched healthy controls. Both groups underwent OCT and OCTA examinations. DSA and assessment of carotid artery stenosis were performed only in the CAS group. The study evaluated various retinochoroidal parameters from OCT and OCTA, including linear vessel density (LVD), foveal avascular zone (FAZ), choroidal thickness (ChT), and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness. DSA-derived measures included cervical segment (C1) diameter, cavernous segment (C4) diameter, stenosis percentage, ophthalmic artery (OA) filling time, C1-OA filling time, and residual stenosis. RESULTS: A total of 42 eyes from 30 CAS patients and 60 eyes from 30 healthy controls were included. Patients with CAS displayed significantly decreased LVD compared to controls (p < 0.001). Additionally, the CAS group had thinner choroid and RNFL (p = 0.047 and p < 0.001, respectively). Macular LVD negatively correlated with both stenosis percentage and C1-OA filling time (p = 0.010 and p = 0.014, respectively). In patients who underwent carotid artery stenting, preoperative ChT significantly correlated with residual stenosis (Pearson r = -0.480, p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: OCT and OCTA provide a quantitative assessment of retinochoroidal microstructural changes associated with CAS, suggesting potential for noninvasive evaluation of the disease. This might contribute to the prevention of irreversible ocular complications and early detection of CAS. Furthermore, ChT may not only aid in diagnosing CAS more reliably but also offer prognostic information.

Choroid plexus enlargement in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients and its correlation with clinical disability and blood-CSF barrier permeability.

BACKGROUND: Using in vivo neuroimaging techniques, growing evidence has demonstrated that the choroid plexus (CP) volume is enlarged in patients with several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. However, although animal and postmortem findings suggest that CP abnormalities are likely important pathological mechanisms underlying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the third most common neurodegenerative disease, no available study has been conducted to thoroughly assess CP abnormalities and their clinical relevance in vivo in ALS patients to date. Thus, we aimed to determine whether in vivo CP enlargement may occur in ALS patients. We also aimed to identify the relationships of CP volume with clinical disabilities and blood-CSF barrier (BCSFB) permeability in ALS patients. METHODS: In this retrospective study, based on structural MRI data, CP volume was assessed using a Gaussian mixture model and underwent further manual correction in 155 ALS patients and 105 age- and sex-matched HCs from October 2021 to April 2023. The ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R) was used to assess clinical disability. The CSF/serum albumin quotient (Qalb) was used to assess BCSFB permeability. Moreover, all the ALS patients completed genetic testing, and according to genetic testing, the ALS patients were further divided into genetic ALS subgroup and sporadic ALS subgroup. RESULTS: We found that compared with HCs, ALS patients had a significantly higher CP volume (p < 0.001). Moreover, compared with HCs, CP volume was significantly increased in both ALS patients with and without known genetic mutations after family-wise error correction (p = 0.006 and p < 0.001, respectively), while there were no significant differences between the two ALS groups. Furthermore, the CP volume was significantly correlated with the ALSFRS-r score (r = -0.226; p = 0.005) and the Qalb (r = 0.479; p < 0.001) in ALS patients. CONCLUSION: Our study first demonstrates CP enlargement in vivo in ALS patients, and continues to suggest an important pathogenetic role for CP abnormalities in ALS. Moreover, assessing CP volume is likely a noninvasive and easy-to-implement approach for screening BCSFB dysfunction in ALS patients.

Mitochondrial dysfunction promotes the necroptosis of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of acrylamide-exposed rats.

Acrylamide (ACR) is a common neurotoxicant that can induce central-peripheral neuropathy in human beings. ACR from occupational setting and foods poses a potential threat to people's health. Purkinje cells are the only efferent source of cerebellum, and their output is responsible for coordinating motor activity. Recent studies have reported that Purkinje cell injury is one of the earliest neurotoxicity at any dose rate of ACR. However, the mechanism underlying ACR-mediated damage to Purkinje cells remains unclear. This research aimed to investigate whether necroptosis is involved in ACR-induced Purkinje cell death and its regulatory mechanism. In this study, rats were treated with ACR (40 mg/kg/every other day) for 6 weeks to establish an animal model of ACR neuropathy. Furthermore, an intervention experiment was achieved by rapamycin (RAPA), which is commonly used to activate mitophagy and maintain mitochondrial homeostasis. The results demonstrated ACR exposure caused necroptosis of Purkinje cells, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammatory response. By contrast, RAPA alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibited activation of necroptosis signaling pathway following ACR. In conclusion, our findings suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction and activation of necroptotic signaling are associated with the loss of Purkinje cells in ACR poisoning, which can be a potential therapeutic target for ACR neurotoxicity.

The therapeutic potential of berberine chloride against SARM1-dependent axon degeneration in acrylamide-induced neuropathy.

Chronic acrylamide (ACR) intoxication causes typical pathology of axon degeneration. Moreover, sterile-α and toll/interleukin 1 receptor motif-containing protein 1 (SARM1), the central executioner of the programmed axonal destruction process under various insults, is up-regulated in ACR neuropathy. However, it remains unclear whether inhibitors targeting SARM1 are effective or not. Among all the pharmacological antagonists, berberine chloride (BBE), a natural phytochemical and the first identified non-competitive inhibitor of SARM1, attracts tremendous attention. Here, we observed the protection of 100 µM BBE against ACR-induced neurites injury (2 mM ACR, 24 hr) in vitro, and further evaluated the neuroprotective effect of BBE (100 mg/kg p.o. three times a week for 4 weeks) in ACR-intoxicated rats (40 mg/kg i.p. three times a week for 4 weeks). The expression of SARM1 was also detected. BBE intervention significantly inhibited the overexpression of SARM1, ameliorated axonal degeneration, alleviated pathological changes in the sciatic nerve and spinal cord, and improved neurobehavioral symptoms in ACR-poisoned rats. Thus, BBE exhibits a strong neuroprotective effect against the SARM1-dependent axon destruction in ACR neuropathy. Meanwhile, our study underscores the need for appropriate inhibitor selection in diverse situations that would benefit from blocking the SARM1-dependent axonal destruction pathway.

Kansuiphorin C and Kansuinin A ameliorate malignant ascites by modulating gut microbiota and related metabolic functions.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Euphorbia kansui is a toxic Chinese herbal medicine and exhibits promising treatment to the malignant ascites (MA) in its traditional use. Ingenane-type and jastrophane-type diterpenes are demonstrated to be responsible for the toxicity and efficacy of kansui. Two representative compounds, kansuiphorin C (KPC) and kansuinin A (KA) in each type were proved to effectively reduce the ascites. The biological and toxicological effects are closely associated with the gastrointestinal tract, but the possible mechanism and related metabolic functions of KPC and KA treating MA through modulating the gut microbiota remain unclear. AIM OF THE STUDY: To investigate the possible mechanism and related metabolism of KPC and KA ameliorating malignant ascites through modulating gut microbiota. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MA rats and normal rats were divided into different groups and administrated with KPC, KA, and positive drug, respectively. 16S rDNA gene sequencing and metagenomes analysis combined with the quantification of short-chain fatty acids of feces were performed to reflect the modulation of gut microbiota. Then, the metabolites of KPC and KA in rat feces under the normal and pathological circumstances were detected by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with MS/MS detector (UFLC-MS/MS) to explore the in-vivo bacterial biotransformation. RESULTS: KPC and KA were modulatory compounds for gut microbiota. The richness of Lactobacillus and the decreased abundance of Helicobacter involved in the carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid metabolism could be responsible for their prohibitory effects on malignant ascites. KPC exhibited stronger modulation of gut microbiota through making the abundance of Helicobacter about 3.5 times lower than KA. Besides, in-vivo microbial biotransformation of KPC and KA contained oxidation, hydrolysis, dehydration, and methylation to form metabolites of lower polarity. Besides, at the dosage of 10 mg kg-1, the toxicity of both compounds had weaker influences on the gut microbiota of normal rats. CONCLUSION: KPC and KA could ameliorate malignant ascites by modulating gut microbiota mainly containing the increase of Lactobacillus and the decrease of Helicobacter and related carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism, providing a basis for their promising clinical usage.

Determination of kansuiphorin C and kansuinin A in rat feces using UFLC-MS/MS and its application in the comparative excretion study on normal and malignant ascites rats.

Malignant ascites (MA) is one of the severe complications of gastrointestinal tumors, affecting the patients' survival time and quality of life. Euphorbia kansui is a commonly used toxic Chinese herbal medicine for malignant ascites. Our previous study showed that the biological and toxicological effects of kansui were closely related to the gastrointestinal tract. The ingenane-type and jastrophane-type diterpenoids are both toxic and active components of kansui. The contents of kansuiphorin C (KPC) and kansuinin A (KA) take highest accounts in each type of diterpene. Hence, in this study, the efficacy and toxicity of KPC and KA on normal rats and MA rats were firstly evaluated by serum liver enzymes (ALT and AST), oxidative damage indicators (GSH, SOD, MDA and LDH), inflammatory indexes (TNF-α, IFN-γ and IL-2) and the volume of ascites. Changes in the levels of these indices showed that although the toxicity of KPC on normal rats was stronger than KA, KPC exhibited better efficacy to the malignant ascites with no obvious side effects at the dose of 10 mg·kg-1. Then, accurate and reliable methods for the determination of KPC and KA in the rat feces by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with MS/MS detector (UFLC-MS/MS) were established, detected by the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The chromatographic separation was conducted on an XBbridge C18 column (50 mm × 2.1 mm, 2.5 µm) using gradient elution composed of 0.1% formic acid in water and acetonitrile. The flow rate was 0.5 mL·min-1 and column temperature was 30 °C. The method was finally applied to the comparative study on normal and malignant ascites rats given KPC and KA, respectively. Interestingly, the results showed that KPC's accumulative fecal excretion rate (normal, 19.22%±5.36%; model, 15.96%±3.47%) were much higher than that of KA (normal, 2.928%±0.741%; model, 2.835%±0.873%) at the same dose within 48 h. This suggested KPC had higher in-vivo transformations in comparison with KA, providing guidance for the further preclinical research of KPC and KA as promising compounds treating MA.

CircRNA­0044073 is upregulated in atherosclerosis and increases the proliferation and invasion of cells by targeting miR­107.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous non­coding RNAs implicated in atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study was to explore the function of circRNA­0044073 in atherosclerosis. Reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays were used to measure the expression levels of circRNA­0044073, microRNA (miRNA/miR)­107, janus kinase 1 (JAK1), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), B­cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl­2) and v­myc avian myelocytomatosis viral oncogene homolog (c­myc) in in blood cells from patients with atherosclerosis. RNA pull­down and luciferase reporter assays were then used to determine the association between circRNA and miR expression, and miR and gene expression, respectively. Matrigel invasion assay and flow cytometry were used to analyze cell invasion and cell cycle. Western blot analysis and ELISA were used to evaluate the expression levels of proteins. It was identified that the expression of circRNA­0044073 was upregulated and the expression of miR­107 was downregulated in atherosclerotic blood cells. Overexpression of circRNA­0044073 promoted the proliferation of human vascular smooth muscle cells (HUVSMCs) and human vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs), while overexpression of miR­107 inhibited their proliferation. In addition, circRNA­0044073 suppressed the levels of miR­107 via a sponge mechanism. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) affected the proliferation of HUVSMCs and HUVECs, and also resulted in changes in circRNA­0044073 expression levels. CircRNA­0044073 promoted the proliferation and invasion of HUVSMCs and HUVECs in spite of the opposite effect observed with LPS treatment. The JAK/STAT signaling pathway was activated in patients with atherosclerosis. CircRNA­0044073 favored the activation of the JAK/STAT signaling pathway and inflammation in HUVSMCs and HUVECs. These data indicate that circRNA­0044073 is upregulated in atherosclerosis and promotes the proliferation and invasion of cells by targeting miR­107 and activating the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, potentially offering a target for novel treatment strategies against atherosclerosis.

Euphorbia kansui fry-baked with vinegar modulates gut microbiota and reduces intestinal toxicity in rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Euphorbia kansui (EK), a kind of toxic traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is used in the treatment of edema, ascites and asthma. EK fry-baked with vinegar (VEK) is regularly used to reduce the toxicity in TCM. Previous studies have confirmed that fry-baking with vinegar could significantly reduce the significant gastrointestinal toxicity of EK. The toxic side-effects of EK are closely associated with intestinal tract, but existing research results could not provide practical measures for detoxification in terms of the biological effects of EK fry-baked with vinegar. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to investigate the gastrointestinal toxicity of EK and detoxification of VEK through the regulation of gut microbiota. Thirty male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided equally into 3 groups and received by oral gavage 0.5% CMC-Na (C group), EK (EKC group) or VEK (VEKC group) powder at 680 mg/kg for seven consecutive days. RESULTS: The ten toxic components in VEK were reduced significantly compared with those in EK. After fry-baked with vinegar, those side effects associated with VEK were significantly relieved in terms of histopathology and inflammatory injury indices of intestinal tissues, liver function and oxidative damage indices. The toxicity of EK might be highly correlated with Lactobacillus and Blautia genera. In addition, EK fry-baked with vinegar increased the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are regulated by gut microbiota. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of main probiotics increased and potentially pathogenic bacteria decreased after EK was fry-baked with vinegar. It turned out that effective detoxification could be achieved by fry-baking with vinegar.

Simultaneous quantification of twelve compounds in ethyl acetate extracts of Euphorbia kansui before and after fry-baked with vinegar by UPLC-MS/MS and its toxic effect on zebrafish.

The dried roots of Euphorbia kansui T.N. Liou ex T.P. Wang have been traditionally used for edema in China. However, the severe toxicity caused by Euphorbia kansui has seriously restricted its clinical application. Therefore, in order to study the material basis of the toxicity attenuation effect of processing with vinegar, a rapid, sensitive, validated and reliable UPLC-MS/MS method was developed to determine twelve compounds in ethyl acetate extracts of Euphorbia kansui before and after fry-baked with vinegar simultaneously. Meanwhile, the study of their toxic effect on zebrafish was conducted. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on Waters BEH C18 UPLC column. 0.3% formic acid in water and acetonitrile were used as mobile phase with a flow rate of 0.40 mL/min and a temperature at 30 °C. The analysis was performed in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode using positive electrospray ionization (ESI). Furthermore, the toxic research results indicated that the toxicity of Euphorbia kansui was decreased after vinegar-processed, which might because of the increase in the content of 5-O-benzoyl-20-deoxyingenol and the decrease in the contents of the remaining terpenoids in ethyl acetate extracts of Euphorbia kansui fry-baked with vinegar. This study demonstrated that the method used is a powerful approach to determine the content of twelve compounds that responsible for the toxic effect of Euphorbia kansui at the same instant. And provided the experimental evidence for the rationale behind the reduction of toxicity.

The toxicity and efficacy evaluation of different fractions of Kansui fry-baked with vinegar on Walker-256 tumor-bearing malignant ascites effusion rats and normal rats.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Kansui, the root of Euphorbia kansui S.L.Liou ex S.B.Ho (E.kansui), is a classical traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with certain toxicity. According to the theory of TCM, kansui fry-baked wtith vinegar (VEK) possesses low toxicity and mild diuretic and purgative efficacy. In clinical practice, it is commonly used for the treatmtablent of ascites and oliguria. The present study aimed to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of different fractions of VEK and reveal the underlying material basis by employing an animal model of malignant ascites effusion (MAE) in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODSTA: The MAE rats as the model were constructed in SPF male wistar rats by intraperitoneal injection of Walker-256 tumor cells. The MAE rats were used and randomly divided into the control group (normal rats), control groups with different fractions (VEKA, VEKB, VEKC and VEKD), model group (MAE rats), positive control group (model group with furosemide), model groups with different fractions (VEKA, VEKB, VEKC and VEKD). Histopathological observation was used to confirm Walker-256 tumor-bearing organ injuries in rats. For the efficacy evaluation, the ascites and urine volumes, the urinary electrolyte concentrations (Na+, K+ and Cl-) and pH, the ascites levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ and VEGF), PRA, the serum levels of Ang II, ALD and ADH, as well as AQP8 protein expression in the gastrointestinal tract were detected. Furthermore, different levels of indicators were measured in the toxicity evaluation of different fractions both on normal and model rats, including serum liver enzymes (AST and ALT), serum oxidative damage parameters (GSH, MDA, LDH and SOD), expressions of inflammatory parameters (NF-κB, ICAM-1 and E-cadherin) and apoptosis signals (caspase-3, -8, -9, Bcl-2 and Bax) in the liver and gastrointestinal tract. RESULTS: Walker-256 tumor-bearing malignant ascites effusion rats showed obvious hepatic and gastrointestinal injuries by histopathological observation. In the efficacy evaluation, model rats treated with VEKB and VEKC showed significant urine increase (VEKB, P < 0.01; VEKC, P < 0.01) and ascites reduction (VEKB, P < 0.01; VEKC, P < 0.01). These two fractions also balanced the concentrations of Na+, K+ and Cl- in urine (VEKB, all P < 0.05; VEKC, all P < 0.05), remarkably decreased urinary pH (VEKB, P < 0.01; VEKC, P < 0.01), and reduced the ascites levels of IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ and VEGF (VEKB, all P < 0.01; VEKC, all P < 0.01) in the model rats. Moreover, levels of PRA, the serum Ang II, ALD and ADH of model rats were decreased after treated by VEKB and VEKC (VEKB, all P < 0.05; VEKC, all P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the expression of gastrointestinal AQP8 of the model rats was also enhanced after treated by VEKB and VEKC (VEKB, P < 0.01; VEKC, P < 0.01). In the toxicity evaluation, although VEKB and VEKC caused toxic indexes moved to the worse aspects in normal rats, nearly all of these indicators notably improved in the model rats. Additionally, VEKA showed no effect on the indicators, either in the efficacy evaluation or in the toxicity evaluation. And VEKD could significantly improve some indicators (urine volume, concentration of K+ in urine, serum MDA, AI and caspase-9) in MAE rats. CONCLUSIONS: VEKB and VEKC were demonstrated a significant efficacy in treating malignant ascites effusion, which could reduce hepatic and gastrointestinal damage on the model rats but cause the same damage to the normal. These data embody the traditional Chinese medicine application principle: You Gu Wu Yun. And these results will provide reference for the safer and better clinical utilization of kansui.

[Comparative study on acute toxicity of different active ingredient fractions from Kansui stir-baked with vinegar on zebrafish embryos].

The 24 h normal developing zebrafish embryos were used to evaluate the acute toxicity and the compounds of respective fractions were analyzed by UFLC-Q-TOF-MS simultaneously. Nine concentration groups with respective concentration and a blank control group were designed for each fraction to investigate their effect on survival rates of zebrafish embryos 96 h after drug administration, and calculate the median lethal concentration (LC50) of different fractions to zebrafish embryos. The results showed that all of the fractions had acute toxicity to zebrafish embryos except VEKD, and the order was as follows: VEKB, VEKC, VEKA and VEKD. According to the results of UFLC-Q-TOF-MS, the chemical ingredients contained in VEKB and VEKC were mainly composed of ingenane-type and japhane-type diterpenoids, respectively. It could be speculated that japhane-type diterpenoids might be the active compounds with lower toxicity associated with the results of toxicity study, providing some references for the further research on effective material basis of Kansui stir-baked with vinegar according to the principle of "drastic medicine, no death risks".

Chemical Constituents from Euphorbia kansui.

In this research, a new triterpenoid, tirucalla-8,24-diene-3ß,11ß-diol-7-one (1), and eupha-8,24-diene-3ß,11ß-diol-7-one (2), which was isolated from Euphorbia kansui for the first time, together with twelve other known compounds (3-14), were isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of Euphorbia kansui. Their structures were elucidated based on High resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR), 1D and 2D Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) data. Both constituents 1 and 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against colon cancer HCT-116, gastric cancer MKN-45 and breast cancer MCF-7.

Dysferlinopathy: mitochondrial abnormalities in human skeletal muscle.

PURPOSE: Mitochondrial defects have been associated with a series of muscular diseases. Dysferlinopathy, however, has been rarely reported with mitochondrial dysfunction. Here we report a cohort of dysferlinopathy patients with mitochondrial abnormalities found in muscle. METHODS: Clinical data and muscle pathologies of nine cases with dysferlinopathy were retrospectively studied. mtDNA copy number, protein levels and activities of mitochondrial enzyme complexes were assayed. RESULTS: Nine patients were diagnosed as having dysferlinopathy by DYSF sequencing and quantification of dysferlin levels in muscle homogenates. Muscle biopsies exhibited dystrophic changes (n = 9), ragged-red fibers (n = 9) and cytochrome c oxidase-deficient fibers (n = 9). mtDNA copy number increased significantly in 56% (15/27) of fibers with mitochondrial histology. Protein levels of complex IV subunits II (n = 5), complex III subunit core 2 (n = 2) and complex I NDUFB1 (n = 1) decreased. Impaired activities of complexes I, III and IV were observed in 56%, 33% and 78% of subjects and the activities were reduced by 21%, 18% and 40%, respectively. Besides, loss activities of complexes I/IV and decreased ATP level were also found in fibroblasts from dysferlinopathy. CONCLUSION: Prominent mitochondrial abnormalities are common pathological findings in muscle from dysferlinopathy. Our data indicated that mitochondria may play a significant role in the progression of dysferlinopathy and also highlighted the potential of mitochondrial protective drugs in rescuing the symptoms of dysferlinopathy.

Muscle injury induced by different types of contractions in dystrophic mdx mice.

Studies on comparing the effect of lengthening, isometric and shortening contractions on dystrophin-deficient muscles are unavailable. We hypothesized that different types of contractions lead to different extents to which dystrophin-deficient muscles are injured. For this purpose, we developed protocols for different types of contraction-induced injury to mdx muscles in vitro. Force deficits and percentages of procion orange dye positive fibers were employed to assess the extent of injury to each muscle. Our results revealed that both the lengthening and isometric contractions resulted in significantly greater injury to extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles of mdx mice than to that of control (C57BL/6) mice. In contrast, the shortening contractions induced very mild and identical injury to EDL muscles of mdx and C57BL/6 mice. Then another protocol was carried out in vivo to ascertain the effect of shortening contractions on mdx muscles by achillotenotomy. Histological assessment revealed that the triceps surae muscles with excised Achilles tendon (EAT) displayed little and significantly milder injury than the normal ones did. In conclusions, the unloaded shortening contractions induce little injury to mdx muscles. The in vitro protocol for different types of contraction-induced injury is sensitive and reliable.

Increased serum endotoxin and elevated CD14 and IL-1beta expression in a rat model of cerebrogenic multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To study the mechanisms underlying cerebrogenic multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (CMODS) through investigation of endotoxin levels and the expression of endotoxin receptor CD14 and interleukin IL-1beta mRNAs in a rat CMODS model. METHODS: Acute cerebral hemorrhage was induced in Wistar rats by focal intracerebral injection of collagenase into the caudate nucleus. Serum endotoxin levels were quantitated using a chromogenic limulus lysate method; CD14 endotoxin receptor mRNA and IL-1beta mRNA levels in lung and intestine were determined by in situ hybridization. RESULTS: Serum endotoxin levels increased after 12 h, reaching a peak after 24 h, and declined to control levels at 72 h. The increase was statistically significant (P<0.05) compared to unoperated controls and the sham-operated group respectively. CD14 mRNA in lung and intestine increased after 12 h, peaked after 24-36 h, and then declined after 48 h. IL-1beta mRNA levels were also increased in lung and intestine (P<0.05), peaking at 36 h and declining thereafter. Expression levels of both CD14 and IL-1beta mRNAs correlated significantly with serum endotoxin levels (Plt;0.01). We conclude that acute cerebral hemorrhage results in endotoxemia and widespread increases in CD14 and IL-1beta expression. We suggest that acute cerebrovascular challenge leads to a stress/shock response that compromises the intestinal mucosal barrier. In turn, this allows endotoxin translocation into the body that provokes the release of pro-inflammatory lymphokines, leading to a systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that culminates in multiple organ dysfunction.