ENDOTHELIAL PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF ULINASTATIN ON EARLY RATS WITH HIGH-VOLTAGE BURNS THROUGH NF-ΚB SIGNALLING PATHWAY

Yanchao Yang, Yanwei Qiu, Xiaowei Cao^*, Qiao Huai, Shuzhen Cui

Department of Anesthesiology, The First Hospital of Shijiazhuang, Shijiazhuang, PR China

Objective: To investigate the endothelial protective effect of Ulinastatin on early rats with high-voltage burns through the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signalling pathway. 

Methods: Ninety-six healthy male SD rats of clean grade were randomly selected to establish a rat model of high-voltage electric burns. The rats were randomly divided into three groups: the control group, the model group and the drug group, with 32 rats in each group. Eight rats were selected from each group before, two hours after and four hours after the electric shock. The levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), myeloperoxide (MPO), endothelin-1 (ET-1), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and NF-κB, were measured in each group. The changes of vascular tissue around trauma were detected by HE staining. 

Result: Compared with before the electric shock, the levels of serum TNF-α and MPO in the model group and the drug group were significantly increased during the electric shock, two hours after and four hours after the electric shock, and significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The serum levels of TNF-α and MPO increased with time, and the rising trend of the drug group was slower than that of the model group. At four hours after the electric shock, the serum levels of TNF-a and MPO in the drug group were significantly lower than those in the model group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum levels of ET-1 and LDH in the model group and the drug group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). The serum levels of ET-1 and LDH in the drug group were significantly lower than those in the model group at two and four hours after the electric shock (P<0.05). The levels of serum NF-κB in the rats of the control, model and drug groups increased before, during and two and four hours after the electric shock. Compared with the rats before the electric shock, the serum levels of NF-κB in the model and drug groups increased significantly (P<0.05). At two and four hours after the electric shock, the serum level of NF-κB in the model group and the drug group was significantly higher than that of the control group, and the level of NF-κB in the drug group was significantly lower than that of the model group (P<0.05). In the control group, the vascular wall was regular and the endothelium was intact; in the model group, the vascular endothelial cells around the trauma were swollen and exfoliated, the muscle space was widened, a microthrombosis was formed and inflammatory infiltration was observed in varying degrees; in the drug group, the vascular tissue around the trauma was significantly improved compared with the model group. 

Conclusion: Ulinastatin can inhibit the expression of TNF-a, MPO, ET-1, LDH and NF-κB in the serum, and has an endothelial protective effect on rats with high-voltage burns, which may be related to the activation of the NF-κB pathway.