Systemic and colonic venous plasma eicosanoid and endotoxin concentrations, and colonic venous serum tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 activities in horses during low-flow ischemia and reperfusion of the large colon
Authors: Moore Rustin M. , Muir William W. , Cawrse Margaret , Bertone Alicia L. , Beard Warren L. 
Published: January 2024

Twenty-four horses were randomly allocated to 3 groups. Horses were anesthetized, subjected to a ventral midline celiotomy, and the large colon was exteriorized and instrumented. Group-1 horses served as sham-operated controls. Group-2 horses were subjected to 6 hours of low-flow colonic arterial ischemia, and group-3 horses were subjected to 3 hours of ischemia and 3 hours of reperfusion. Baseline (bl) samples were collected, then low-flow ischemia was induced by reducing ventral colonic arterial blood flow to 20% of bl. All horses were monitored for 6 hours after bl data were collected. blood samples were collected from the colonic vein and main pulmonary artery (systemic venous [sv]) for measurement of plasma endotoxin, 6-keto prostaglandin Flα (6-kPG), thromboxane B2 (txb2), and prostaglandin E2 (pge2) concentrations. Tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 activities were measured in colonic venous (cv) serum samples. Data were analyzed, using two-way anova, and post-hoc comparisons were made, using Dunnett's and Tu- key's tests. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Endotoxin was not detected in CV or sv plasma at any time. There was no detectable tumor necrosis factor or interleukin-6 activity in CV samples at any time. There were no differences at bl among groups for CV or sv 6-kPG, pge2, or txb2 concentrations, nor were there any changes across time in group-1 horses. Colonic venous 6-kPG concentration increased during ischemia in horses of groups 2 and 3; CV 6-kPG concentration peaked at 3 hours in group-3 horses, then decreased during reperfusion, but remained increased through 6 hours in group-2 horses. Systemic venous 6-kPG concentration increased during reperfusion in group-3 horses, but there were no changes in group- 2 horses. Colonic venous pge2 concentration increased during ischemia in horses of groups 2 and 3, and remained increased for the first hour of reperfusion in group-3 horses and for the 6-hour duration of ischemia in group-2 horses. There were no temporal alterations in sv pge2 concentration. There was no difference in CV or sv ixb2 concentration among or within groups across time; however, there was a trend (P = 0.075) toward greater CV txb2 concentration at 3.25 hours, compared with bl, in group-3 horses. Eicosanoid concentrations were significantly lower in sv, compared with CV plasma. Prostaglandin E2 and 6-kPG concentrations were approximately 3 to 8 and 5 to 10 times greater, respectively, in CV than in sv plasma. The increased concentrations of 6-kPG and pge2 in CV plasma were likely attributable to their accumulation secondary to colonic ischemia. The increased values of these vasodilator eicosanoids may have a role in the reactive hyperemia observed during reperfusion. The increased 6-kPG concentration in sv plasma may represent spillover from the colonic vasculature, but more likely reflects systemic production.