Study on Tie2 mRNA level in peripheral blood associated with the severity of sepsis

Objective To investigate the possibility that the level of Tie2 mRNA in peripheral blood could reflect the severity of sepsis.Methods Trauma patients in intensive care unit (ICU) were recruited,and they were divided into sepsis group (n=13) and non-sepsis group (n=19).The severity of disease was evaluated with acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score on the day of ICU admission.Blood of patients was sampled on day 1, 3, 7 after ICU admission to determination of the white blood cell (WBC) count, contents of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST),blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (Cr), mRNA levels of Tie2 in blood measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the contents of plasma von Willebrand factor (vWF) with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Results No significant difference in contents of ALT, AST and plasma vWF was found between sepsis group and non-sepsis group [ALT (U/L): 53.30 (199.58) vs.80.65 (202.62), AST (U/L): 316.53 (49.90)vs.66.10 (285.03), vWF: (272.47 ±114.61)% vs.(246.66±128.77)%, all P＞0.05].The number of WBC [× 109/L, 18.26 (21.82) vs.10.11 (4.72)], the contents of BUN [mmol/L, 20.70 (11.20) vs.7.70 (5.45)] and Cr [μmol/L: 252.00 (364.55) vs.68.00(23.20)], and the circulating mRNA levels of Tie2 (1.86±0.67 vs.0.91±0.42) in sepsis group were higher than those in the non-sepsis group (all P＜0.01).The Tie2 mRNA level in peripheral blood of each patient was positively correlated with APACHE I score (r= 0.532, P＜ 0.01).The linear regression equation was Y= 12.66+ 4.922X (R2 = 0.283).Besides, there was a significant correlation bettween the amount of Tie2 mRNA and plasma levels of vWF (r=0.334, P＜0.05).The linear regression equation was Y=180.932+57.93X (R2=0.112).Conclusion The level of Tie2 mRNA in peripheral blood could reflect the damage of endothelial cell and severity of sepsis. Key words: Tie2 ;  Gene expression ;  Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction ;  Sepsis ;