Objective To preliminarily investigate the
role of
Vitamin C in cecal
ligation and
puncture-induced septic
brain injury.
Methods Male specific pathogen free (SPF) Sprague-Dawley
male rats were randomly assigned into
control group,sham operation group,
sepsis group and
sepsis therapy group.The
rats in
sepsis group were prepared by cecal
ligation and
puncture.The
rats in
sepsis therapy group were injected
sodium ascorbate through the
tail vein 3 h after the cecal
ligation and punature
procedure.The
animals in other groups were subjected only to subcutaneous bolus
injection of 9 g/L saline only.
Animals were evaluated by neurologic
reflex scores before sacrifice and
brain tissues were quickly removed at the indicated
time points.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS),
superoxide dismutase (SOD),
malondialdehyde (MDA),
nitric oxide (NO),
inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and
catalase (
CAT) were determined by using
enzyme assay kits.
Hematoxylin-
eosin (HE)
staining was used to observe morphological changes in
brain tissues.Results The
survival rate of the
sepsis group (30% at 7th day) was significantly lower than that of the
control group (100% at 7th day)and sham operation group(100% at 7th day).The
survival rate of the
sepsis therapy group (45% at 7th day)was significantly higher than that of the
sepsis group(P < O.05).The neurological
reflex assessment began to decrease at 6 h in
sepsis group and reached the lowest at 24 h (6.00 ± 0.53).The
sepsis therapy group (7.62 ± 0.52) was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the
sepsis group and began to recover at 72 h (8.63 ±0.52).ROS,SOD,MDA,NO and iNOS in the
sepsis group and the
sepsis therapy group reached a peak at 24 h,which decreased at 72 h.The value in
sepsis therapy group was significantly decreased than that in the
sepsis group,and the difference was statistically significant(P <0.05).
CAT changed in the opposition.The SOD/
CAT in
sepsis group was the highest 24 h after the operation,while the ratio in
sepsis therapy group was significantly improved.SOD/
CAT and MDA were positively correlated(r =0.968,P < 0.05).HE
staining showed significant damage to the
brain tissue structure in the
sepsis group,however some improvement was observed in the
sepsis therapy group.Conclusion
Vitamin C can significantly improve the
survival rate and
encephalopathy prognosis in the cecal
ligation and
puncture SD
rat models.The mechanism may be related to the reduction of
oxidative stress.