The Journal of surgical research
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Although impairment of vascular smooth muscle contractility occurs during the late stages of polymicrobial sepsis, it is not known whether this also occurs in early stages of sepsis and, if so, whether different mechanisms are responsible for such smooth muscle dysfunction. To determine this, rats were subjected to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Immediately following CLP or sham operation, all animals received 3 ml/100 g body wt normal saline. ⋯ Endothelium removal at 10 hr after CLP restored the contraction induced by NE and KCl to sham levels. In contrast, the smooth muscle contractile dysfunction, observed during late sepsis (35 hr post-CLP), was not restored by the removal of endothelium. Thus, the smooth muscle impairment, observed in early sepsis, is due to mediators released from septic endothelium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)