phosphocreatine and Sepsis

Patients with sepsis-induced multiple organ failure often experience muscle fatigue in both locomotive and respiratory muscles. Muscle fatigue extends intensive care unit stay, mostly in the form of prolonged weaning from the ventilator, and the recovery period after intensive care unit treatment due to general muscle fatigue. Muscle mitochondria are the main determinant of muscle fatigue and fatigability. Derangements in mitochondrial function in locomotive muscles have been described extensively both in animal models and patients with sepsis. Also, in respiratory muscle, mitochondrial function and content are impaired during sepsis. However, in septic patients with multiple organ failure, in locomotive muscle, lower levels of energy-rich compounds accompany the decreased mitochondrial content, whereas in respiratory muscle, the decreased mitochondrial content has no effect on cellular energy metabolism.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Energy Metabolism; Humans; Lactic Acid; Leg; Locomotion; Mitochondria; Multiple Organ Failure; Muscle, Skeletal; Muscle, Smooth; Phosphocreatine; Respiratory System; Sepsis

Sepsis is common in intensive care units (ICU) and is associated with high mortality. Cardiac dysfunction complicating sepsis is one of the most important causes of this mortality. This dysfunction is due to myocardial inflammation and reduced production of energy by the heart. A number of studies have shown that hydrogen-rich saline (HRS) has a beneficial effect on sepsis. Therefore, we tested whether HRS prevents cardiac dysfunction by increasing cardiac energy. Four groups of rats received intraperitoneal injections of one of the following solutions: normal saline (NS), HRS, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and LPS plus HRS. Cardiac function was measured by echocardiography 8 h after the injections. Gene and protein expression related to fatty acid oxidation (FAO) were measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot analysis. The injection of LPS compromised heart function through decreased fractional shortening (FS) and increased left ventricular diameter (LVD). The addition of HRS increased FS, palmitate triphosphate, and the ratio of phosphocreatinine (PCr) to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as well as decreasing LVD. The LPS challenge reduced the expression of genes related to FAO, including perioxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC-1α), perioxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), Estrogen-related receptor alpha (ERRα), and their downstream targets, in mRNA and protein level, which were attenuated by HRS. However, HRS had little effect on glucose metabolism. Furthermore, HRS inhibited c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation in the rat heart. Inhibition of JNK by HRS showed beneficial effects on LPS-challenged rats, at least in part, by restoring cardiac FAO.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Echocardiography; Fatty Acids; Heart; Heart Diseases; Heart Ventricles; Hydrogen; Inflammation; Injections, Intraperitoneal; Intensive Care Units; JNK Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; Lipopolysaccharides; Male; Myocardium; Oxygen; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Coactivator 1-alpha; Phosphocreatine; Polymerase Chain Reaction; PPAR alpha; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sepsis; Sodium Chloride; Transcription Factors

Critically ill patients treated for multiple organ failure often develop muscle dysfunction. Here we test the hypothesis that mitochondrial and energy metabolism are deranged in leg and intercostal muscle of critically ill patients with sepsis-induced multiple organ failure. Ten critically ill patients suffering from sepsis-induced multiple organ failure and requiring mechanical ventilation were included in the study. A group (n = 10) of metabolically healthy age- and sex-matched patients undergoing elective surgery were used as controls. Muscle biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis (leg) and intercostal muscle. The activities of citrate synthase and mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes I and IV and concentrations of ATP, creatine phosphate, and lactate were analyzed. Morphological evaluation of mitochondria was performed by electron microscopy. Activities of citrate synthase and complex I were 53 and 60% lower, respectively, in intercostal muscle of the patients but not in leg muscle compared with controls. The activity of complex IV was 30% lower in leg muscle but not in intercostal muscle. Concentrations of ATP and creatine phosphate were, respectively, 40 and 34% lower, and lactate concentrations were 43% higher in leg muscle but not in intercostal muscle. We conclude that both leg and intercostal muscle show a twofold decrease in mitochondrial content in intensive care unit patients with multiple organ failure, which is associated with lower concentrations of energy-rich phosphates and an increased anaerobic energy production in leg muscle but not in intercostal muscle.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biopsy; Citrate (si)-Synthase; Critical Illness; Electron Transport Complex I; Electron Transport Complex IV; Female; Humans; Intercostal Muscles; Lactic Acid; Leg; Male; Microscopy, Electron; Middle Aged; Mitochondria; Multiple Organ Failure; Oxidative Stress; Phosphocreatine; Sepsis

The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that induction of chronic peritoneal sepsis in rats would produce a more severe calcium paradox-mediated myocardial injury in isolated heart preparation than is seen in normal hearts, and that this would be inhibited by sucrose as in normal hearts. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were made septic using 200 mg of cecal material (obtained from a donor rat) suspended in 5 mL of 5% dextrose in sterile water D5 W/kg. In septic animals, the cecal material was injected in the peritoneum, while sham-septic animals received only D5 W/kg (5 mL/kg). A third group consisting of normal rats (no surgery) group was also included. Hearts were harvested from all three groups and were subjected to a calcium paradox-mediated injury in an isolated heart preparation. Hearts were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit (KH) medium and were allowed to stabilize, followed by a perfusion with Ca2+-free KH for 10 min. After this 10-min Ca2+-free KH perfusion, rats were reperfused with KH medium for 60 min. Ca2+-free KH medium was used in control experiments, while sucrose experiments were conducted with the same medium except that 150 mM sucrose replaced 75 mM NaCl. A marked decrease in ATP and phosphocreatine occurred during Ca2+ reperfusion in all hearts in absence of sucrose. In the presence of the disaccharide, no change in high-energy phosphate (HEP) levels was observed in normal hearts, while lower ATP concentrations were seen in sham and septic hearts. Thus, sucrose did not inhibit cellular injury in sham and septic hearts as it did in normal hearts, and this might be due to a smaller HEP availability. Control studies with normal, sham, and septic hearts exhibited cessation of contractions in the absence of Ca2+, and appearance of large amounts of cytosolic protein in the effluent perfusate during Ca2+ reperfusion. With normal hearts, perfusion with sucrose caused a 96% inhibition of the total creatine kinase (CK) release observed in control experiments. With sham hearts, 32% of CK release was inhibited by sucrose, while 68% of the CK release was attributed to stress associated with surgery performed in the sham-septic group. In septic hearts, only 8% of the CK release was inhibited by sucrose, suggesting that more severe myocardial injury occurs when septic hearts are subjected to a calcium paradox as compared to other groups. It is evident that sucrose can inhibit a small fraction of the CK release from septic hearts during the calcium

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Calcium; Creatine Kinase; Heart; Heart Rate; In Vitro Techniques; Male; Myocardium; Myoglobin; Perfusion; Peritoneal Diseases; Phosphates; Phosphocreatine; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sepsis; Sucrose

Bacterial sepsis is frequently accompanied by increased blood concentration of lactic acid, which traditionally is attributed to poor tissue perfusion, hypoxia and anaerobic glycolysis. Therapy aimed at improving oxygen delivery to tissues often does not correct the hyperlactatemia, suggesting that high blood lactate in sepsis is not due to hypoxia. Various tissues, including skeletal muscle, demonstrate increased lactate production under well-oxygenated conditions when the activity of the Na+-K+ ATPase is stimulated. Although both muscle Na+-K+ ATPase activity and muscle plasma membrane content of Na+, K+-ATPase subunits are increased in sepsis, no studies in vivo have demonstrated correlation between lactate production and changes in intracellular Na+ and K+ resulting from increased Na+-K+ pump activity in sepsis. Plasma concentrations of lactate and epinephrine, a known stimulator of the Na+-K+ pump, were increased in rats made septic by E. coli injection. Muscle lactate content was significantly increased in septic rats, although muscle ATP and phosphocreatine remained normal, suggesting oxygen delivery remained adequate for mitochondrial energy metabolism. In septic rats, muscle intracellular ratio of Na+:K+ was significantly reduced, indicating increased Na+-K+ pump activity. These data thus demonstrate that increased muscle lactate during sepsis correlates with evidence of elevated muscle Na+-K+ ATPase activity, but not with evidence of impaired oxidative metabolism. This study also further supports a role for epinephrine in this process.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Epinephrine; Lactic Acid; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Phosphocreatine; Potassium; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sepsis; Sodium; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase

To determine the effects of phosphocreatine (PCr) depletion on myocellular energetics.. Randomized controlled study.. University laboratory.. Thirty-eight adult male Wistar rats (110-121 g).. The poorly metabolized creatine analogue beta-guanidinopropionic acid, (beta-GPA, 2% of a gel diet) was fed to the rats for 14 days to replace (75%) endogenous PCr stores before cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Rats were randomized to receive sham operation and gel diet (sham-gel group [n=10]), sham operation and beta-GPA diet (sham-beta-GPA group [n=9]), CLP and gel diet (CLP-gel group [n=10]), and CLP and beta-GPA diet (CLP-beta-GPA group [n=9]). On day 14, all animals underwent operation. Twenty-four hours later, in vivo phosphorus 31-labeled magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-MRS) of the gastrocnemius muscle was performed. Muscle samples were collected to determine enzyme activities of beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase, citrate synthase, and the metabolites adenosine triphosphate (ATP), PCr, inorganic phosphate, and creatine. Free adenosine diphosphate levels, the phosphorylation potential, and free energy change of ATP hydrolysis were then calculated.. All animals undergoing CLP but no controls had positive results of blood cultures. Although sham-beta-GPA animals had altered bioenergetics, CLP-beta-GPA rats experienced a greater deterioration of energy state compared with CLP-gel controls. Glycolytic and oxidative enzyme activities were not significantly different between groups and therefore could not explain the observed differences.. There is an overall decrease in energy availability during sepsis, which is worsened by PCr depletion. These changes support the contention that PCr plays an important role as an ATP buffer during systemic infection.

Topics: Animals; Energy Metabolism; Male; Muscle, Skeletal; Phosphocreatine; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sepsis

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between hepatic energy status and liver injury during sepsis, using transgenic mice which express creatine kinase in the liver catalyzing the phosphocreatine/creatine system. Methods. Creatine kinase transgenic mice were fed with normal rodent chow or chow containing 10% creatine for 5 days. Lipopolysaccharide (0.2 mg/kg) combined with d-galactosamine (600 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally. Results. Eighty percent of the creatine-fed transgenic mice had survived at 48 h post-d-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide administration, compared with none of the normally fed transgenic mice. Hepatic phosphocreatine and ATP levels in the normally fed transgenic mice were significantly lower than those in the creatine-fed transgenic mice before and after lipopolysaccharide combined with d-galactosamine was administered. Massive hepatic hemorrhagic necrosis with apoptosis was seen in response to d-galactosamine and lipopolysaccharide in normally fed transgenic mice. These results are consistent with a significant increase in serum aminotransferase at 8 h. In contrast, there were faint necrotic changes in the liver with minimal cellular infiltration in creatine-fed transgenic mice. Conclusions. Maintenance of hepatic ATP levels protects from sepsis-induced liver injury and mortality.

Topics: Alanine Transaminase; Animals; Apoptosis; Aspartate Aminotransferases; Brain; Creatine Kinase; Energy Metabolism; Galactosamine; Isoenzymes; Lipopolysaccharides; Liver; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Necrosis; Phosphocreatine; Rats; Sepsis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

To determine the role of glucocorticoids in the regulation of myocellular energetics induced by sepsis by means of the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist mifepristone (RU 38486).. Randomized controlled study.. University laboratories.. Thirty-two adult male Wistar rats.. Animals were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups. In 2 groups, mifepristone (10 mg/kg) was administered by gavage feeding 2 hours before cecal ligation and single 18-gauge needle puncture or sham operation. The other 2 groups of animals received placebo gavage feedings 2 hours before their surgical procedures. Twenty-four hours after operation, high-energy phosphate ratios, intracellular pH, the forward rate constant for the creatine kinase reaction, and phosphocreatine breakdown rates were measured in the gastrocnemius muscle by in vivo phosphorus 31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Tissue and blood samples were collected to measure creatine and adenosine 5'-triphosphate concentrations, Na(+)-K+ adenosine triphosphatase activity, and circulating corticosterone levels.. Circulating corticosterone levels were twice as high in septic animals as in sham-operation control rats (P < .01). Phosphocreatine breakdown rates and Na(+)-K+ adenosine triphosphatase activity were significantly higher (40% and 75%, respectively; P < .01) in placebo-treated septic rats than in sham-operation control rats. However, phosphocreatine breakdown rates and Na(+)-K+ adenosine triphosphatase activity in mifepristone-treated septic animals were not significantly elevated above control levels.. Pretreatment with mifepristone reduces the demand for adenosine triphosphate production from phosphocreatine breakdown and downregulates Na(+)-K+ adenosine triphosphatase activity during sepsis.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Corticosterone; Creatine; Creatine Kinase; Down-Regulation; Energy Metabolism; Hormone Antagonists; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Mifepristone; Muscle, Skeletal; Phosphates; Phosphocreatine; Phosphorus Isotopes; Placebos; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Receptors, Glucocorticoid; Sepsis; Sodium-Potassium-Exchanging ATPase

Sepsis increases phosphocreatine (PCr) breakdown and reduces PCr stores in skeletal muscle. To determine if systemic infection impairs mitochondrial function, in vivo 13P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) studies of the gastrocnemius muscle were performed in virus-free male Wistar rats 24 or 48 hr after cecal ligation and 18-gauge needle single puncture (24 degrees CLP, n = 16; 48 degrees CLP, n = 15) or sham operation (24 degrees SHAM, n = 18; 48 degrees SHAM, n = 13). Physiologic saline (6 ml/100 g body wt) was injected intraperitoneally for fluid resuscitation. Water but no food was allowed in all animals. High resolution (8.45 Tesla) 31P MRS spectra, obtained at rest and during exercise using a 1.4-cm surface coil, were used to calculate PCr/ATP, PCr/P(i) ratios, and intracellular pH. Steady-state muscle exercise was induced by supramaximal sciatic nerve stimulation at 10 Hz for 10 min. Recovery of PCr/(PCr + P(i)) ratios after exercise was fitted to a monoexponential curve. The resultant function was used to calculate the half time for PCr recovery, the initial PCr resynthesis rate, and the maximal oxidative ATP synthesis rate, which reflect the rephosphorylation of ADP and are therefore measures of mitochondrial oxidative capacity. PCr/ATP ratios decreased by 12 and 11%, 24 and 48 hr after CLP, respectively. The PCr/P(i) ratios decreased incrementally (7% in 24 degrees CLP vs 23% in 48 degrees CLP animals). Twenty-four hours after operation the half time for PCr recovery was shortened while the initial PCr resynthesis rate and maximal oxidative ATP synthesis rate were accelerated in CLP animals compared to controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Adenosine Diphosphate; Animals; Body Weight; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Magnesium; Male; Mitochondria, Muscle; Muscle, Skeletal; Oxidation-Reduction; Phosphocreatine; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Sepsis

Sepsis has been reported to cause mitochondrial dysfunction and inhibition of key enzymes that regulate the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. We investigated the effect of sepsis on high-energy phosphates, glycolytic and TCA cycle intermediates, and specific amino acids that are involved in regulating the size of the TCA cycle pool during changes in metabolic state of the heart. Sepsis was induced in 12 female rats by the cecal ligation and perforation technique under halothane anesthesia; seven control rats underwent cecal manipulation without ligation. At 36-42 h postsurgery, the rats were reanesthetized, the chest was opened, and the hearts were freeze-clamped. Perchloric acid extracts of the hearts were analyzed with fluorometric enzymatic methods and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. There were no significant differences in the levels of the TCA cycle intermediates or high-energy phosphates between the septic and control rats. The major metabolic changes were the 28% decrease in alanine and the 31% decrease in glutamate in the septic hearts compared with control (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.005, respectively). Phosphocholine, a component of membrane phospholipids, was increased by 91% in the septic hearts (P less than 0.01). We conclude that sepsis does not impair the TCA cycle or induce significant cellular ischemia in the heart. The increase in phosphocholine may represent significant cellular membrane disruption during sepsis.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Blood Pressure; Citric Acid Cycle; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Heart; Heart Rate; Hematocrit; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Myocardium; NAD; NADP; Phosphocreatine; Phosphorus; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Reference Values; Sepsis

Neurological symptoms including lethargy, obtundation, and confusion are early and common findings in patients with sepsis. The etiology of the mental status changes that occur during severe infection is not known. We investigated the effects of sepsis on the levels of high-energy phosphates to determine whether decreased energy metabolism was a factor in the depressed neurological state. The time course of changes in brain pH and brain high-energy phosphate metabolites during an Escherichia coli infusion was determined from sequential phosphorus-31 nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR) spectra of ketamine-xylazine-anesthetized rats. A second group of rats received 0.9% saline infusion and served as a control group. Despite severe obtundation and near loss of righting reflex, the rats in the septic group had no significant differences in the brain pH, the ratio of phosphocreatine (PCr) to beta-adenosine 5'-triphosphate (beta-ATP), or in the ratio of PCr to Pi. The only significant decrease in brain high-energy phosphates or pH occurred terminally in the septic rat group and corresponded with a rapidly falling arterial blood pressure. We conclude that the severe neurological depression that is characteristic of sepsis is not due to decreased levels of brain high-energy phosphates or brain acidosis.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Brain; Energy Metabolism; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Phosphocreatine; Phosphorus; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Reference Values; Sepsis

Alterations in skeletal muscle cellular function during septic shock have been previously demonstrated. However, whether these alterations represent a specific response to the septic state or are simply a consequence of low flow is uncertain. The present study was designed to evaluate the cellular membrane response to the early bacteremic state, prior to the onset of hemodynamic compromise. A clinically relevant model of sepsis was achieved in six mongrel dogs by intraarterial infusion of live Escherichia coli organisms and concurrent volume loading with lactated Ringer's solution. Four sham-treated dogs served as controls. Forty-eight hours after induction of sepsis, resting transmembrane potential (Em) was measured in a hindlimb adductor muscle. Contemporaneous muscle biopsy was performed for determination of transmembrane water and electrolyte distribution. The bacteremic state was associated with depolarization of Em to -79.7 +/- 1.2 mV from a basal value of -89.3 +/- 0.2 mV (P less than 0.01), while Em in the sham-treated group remained unchanged over the same time course. In addition, there was a significant increase in the calculated intracellular Na+ and Cl- concentrations in the septic group (P less than 0.02), while intracellular K+ was unchanged. These data are consistent with a selective increase in cell membrane permeability to Na+ and indicate that cellular alterations in skeletal muscle occur early in the septic course, in the absence of hemodynamic compromise. This alteration in membrane permeability appears to be common to cells of disparate organ systems in response to sepsis, and may represent a protean manifestation of cellular injury.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Blood Pressure; Cardiac Output; Cell Membrane; Cell Membrane Permeability; Chlorides; Dogs; Escherichia coli Infections; Female; Heart Rate; Male; Membrane Potentials; Muscles; Phosphocreatine; Potassium; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure; Sepsis; Sodium; Vascular Resistance

High-energy phosphate metabolism in skeletal muscle is altered during sepsis, although the chronology of events is uncertain. Phosphorus 31 magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to measure changes in muscle energy stores of the left hind limb musculature of adult male rats during sepsis. Following control scans, cecal ligation and puncture were performed and scanning was repeated 6, 24, and 48 hours after surgery. The ratios of phosphocreatine (PCr) to inorganic phosphate (Pi), a measure of energy stores, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to Pi ratio, a measure of the energy available for immediate use, were determined from peak heights. Intracellular pH was calculated using the distance between Pi and PCr peaks. In surviving animals, a 40% decrease in PCr/Pi ratio (+/- SEM) was observed by 24 hours (22.3 +/- 3.0 at time 0 vs 13.3 +/- 2.8 at 24 hours), whereas energy availability (beta-ATP/Pi) was statistically unchanged (18.2 +/- 2.2 at time 0 vs 15.2 +/- 1.2 at 48 hours). Intracellular pH did not change. Both PCr/Pi and ATP/Pi ratios were inversely correlated with time. In this model of documented peritonitis, skeletal muscle energy metabolism is rapidly altered following severe infection, and these changes can be detected using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Topics: Adenosine Triphosphate; Animals; Hindlimb; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Muscles; Phosphates; Phosphocreatine; Phosphorus; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Sepsis