Surgery
-
Intestinal ischemia-reperfusion can occur in shock and mesenteric occlusive diseases, causing significant morbidity and mortality. Aside from local injury, intestinal ischemia-reperfusion can result in remote organ damage, particularly in the lungs. Cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) was identified as a novel inflammatory mediator. We hypothesized that a deficiency in CIRP would protect the lungs during intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury. ⋯ Increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, myeloperoxidase, and apoptosis are the hallmarks of acute respiratory distress syndrome. We noticed after intestinal ischemia-reperfusion the proinflammatory milieu in lungs was elevated significantly, while the CIRP-/- mice had significantly decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokine, myeloperoxidase, and apoptotic cells leading to decreased lung injury. These findings strongly established a causal link between CIRP and acute respiratory distress syndrome during intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injuries. Targeting CIRP may therefore be beneficial for treatment of intestinal ischemia-reperfusion-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome acute respiratory distress syndrome.