The role of lymph factors in lung injury, bone marrow suppression, and endothelial cell dysfunction in a primate model of trauma-hemorrhagic shock.

Studies in rodent models of trauma-hemorrhagic shock (T/HS) have shown that factors contained in the intestinal lymph are responsible for acute lung injury and bone marrow suppression, and that they contribute to a systemic inflammatory state. Because results observed in rodent T/HS models may not fully reflect the response of injured patients, it is necessary to determine if these results can be replicated in primates before the institution of invasive studies in humans. Thus, the three goals of this study were to determine if diversion of thoracic duct lymph reduced T/HS-induced lung injury; to compare the biologic activity of thoracic duct lymph from baboons subjected to T/HS or trauma sham-shock (T/SS); and to compare the biologic activity and composition of plasma from baboons subjected to T/SS, T/HS, and T/HS with thoracic duct lymph drainage. Three groups of baboons were studied: T/SS plus lymph diversion via a thoracic duct catheter, T/HS, and T/HS plus lymph diversion (T/HS-LD). The trauma component consisted of a neck dissection with resection of the proximal clavicle plus a laparotomy. HS was to a mean arterial pressure of 40 mmHg and was maintained at 40 mmHg until the base excess reached -5 mEq or the total shock period reached 3 h. Volume resuscitation was carried out by reinfusing the shed blood plus crystalloids. Before, during, and after the T/HS or T/SS period, blood and lymph samples were obtained for analysis, and lung samples were harvested for measurement of lung wet-to-dry ratio at 5 h after the end of the shock period. Diversion of thoracic duct lymph prevented T/HS-induced lung injury as reflected in lung wet-to-dry weight ratios (T/SS = 4.6 +/- 0.5; T/HS+LD = 4.8 +/- 0.7; T/HS = 5.4 +/- 0.6; P < 0.05). Lymph from the T/HS group collected during the early postshock period was cytotoxic for human endothelial cells (HUVECs; 16% vs. 100% survival in T/SS lymph) and increased HUVEC monolayer permeability almost 2-fold (P < 0.01). T/HS lymph and plasma also suppressed red blood cell (erythroid burst-forming unit) and white blood cell (granulocyte-monocyte colony-forming unit) progenitor cell growth of human bone marrow to approximately 50% of control, whereas T/SS lymph and plasma were not suppressive (P < 0.05). Plasma cytokine levels were increased to a similar degree in the two T/HS groups. Thus, in a primate model of T/HS, gut-derived factors carried in the lymph potentiates lung injury and endothelial dysfunction, and suppresses bone marrow progenitor cell growth.