Changes in cardiac thrombomodulin and heat shock transcription factor 1 expression and peripheral thrombomodulin and catecholamines during hypothermia in rats.

Effects of hypothermia and rewarming on thrombomodulin, catecholamines and heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1) were studied in rats. The aims of this study were to clarify whether cold stress, under anesthesia, is sufficient to change levels of thrombomodulin in healthy endothelium and in the circulation and whether adrenaline, noradrenaline and HSF1 could act as regulators in the process. Rats were divided into control, mild hypothermia (2 and 4.5 hours at + 21 °C; MH1, MH2), severe hypothermia (2 and 4.5 h at + 10 °C; SH1, SH2) and two rewarming groups (2 h at + 10 °C followed by 2 h at + 21 °C or 3 h at + 28 °C; SHW1, SHW2) (n = 15/group, except n = 6 in MH1). Fentanyl-fluanisone-midazolam was used as anesthetic. Low levels of thrombomodulin in plasma and myocardial arterioles/venules measured by ELISA and immunohistochemistry were associated with significant increase of thrombomodulin transcript level in SH1 rats analyzed by quantitative PCR. Plasma adrenaline correlated negatively with the relative amount of myocardial thrombomodulin transcripts and positively with plasma thrombomodulin in SH. Transcript levels of thrombomodulin and HSF1 correlated strongly (r = 0.83; p < 0.001) in SH. Plasma/urine ratio of thrombomodulin and plasma adrenaline (r = 0.87; p = 0.005) or noradrenaline (r = 0.78; p = 0.023) were strongly correlated in SHW1 rats. Hence, cellular and soluble levels of thrombomodulin are modified by cold stress in healthy rats, possibly via catecholamines and HSF1.