Pulmonary and muscle profile in pneumosepsis: A temporal analysis of inflammatory markers

Abstract In sepsis, greater understanding of the inflammatory mechanism involved would provide insights into the condition and into its extension to the muscular apparatus in critically ill patients. Therefore, this study evaluates the inflammatory profile of pneumosepsis induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae ( K.p. ) in lungs and skeletal muscles during the first 72 h. Male BALB/c mice were divided into 4 groups, submitted to intratracheal inoculation of K.p. at a concentration of 2 × 10 8 (PS) or PBS, and assessed after 24 (PS24), 48 (PS48) and 72 (PS72) hours. The Maximum Physical Capacity Test (MPCT) was performed before and after induction. Pulmonary inflammation was assessed by total cell number, nitric oxide levels (NOx), IL-1β and TNF-α levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF); inflammation and muscle trophism were evaluated by the levels of TNF-α, IL-6, TGF-β and BDNF by ELISA and NF-κB by western blotting in muscle tissue. Cells and colony forming units (CFU) were also analyzed in blood samples. The PS groups showed an increase in total cells in the BALF (p