[Change of nuclear factor-kappaB activity in early burn injury and its significance].

OBJECTIVE: To study the change of nuclear factor-kappaB(NF-kappaB) activity in the blood leukocytes of rats in the early period after severe burn injury and its significance. METHODS: To examine the change of NF-kappaB activity in leukocytes of blood of rats in the early period(48 hours) after severe burn injury to show its relation with tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-alpha) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1). RESULTS: The activity of NF-kappaB after burn injury was increased than that was before burn injury, and reached the peak at the 12 hours. TNF-alpha, ICAM-1 and polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leucocytes(PMN) in plasma had the similar changeable patterns, and NF-kappaB had the positive correlation with TNF-alpha, ICAM-1 and PMN. CONCLUSION: The activity of NF-kappaB is increased in blood leukocytes in the early period after severe burn injury. It may play an important role in systemic inflammatory response syndrome(SIRS) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS) after burn injury.