Are the cytokines and chemokines important for the early diagnosis of mesenteric ischemia?

BACKGROUND: Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) has very high mortality and morbidity rates, and the most important factor in the prognosis of AMI is the duration of ischemia. This study aims to evaluate the changes of these markers according to the ischemia duration and possible use of cytokines and chemokines in the early diagnosis of AMI. METHODS: Twenty-one male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three equal groups. The Superior Mesenteric Artery and Superior Mesenteric Vein were tied tightly and exposed to ischemia for 2 h for Group 1 and 6 h for Group 2. There was no intervention for Group 3, and it was selected as a control group. Intracardiac blood samples were collected after 2 h in Group 1 and 6 h in Groups 2 and 3. The IL-1α, 1β, 6, 10, 12p70, 17A, 18, 33, CXCL1/KC, CCL2/MCP-1, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, and TNF-α were measured using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Significant differences were observed between the groups in IFN-γ, CXCL1, MCP1, TNF-α, and IL-6 parameters. In the correlation analyses performed according to the mesenteric ischemia time, a very strong correlation was observed in CXCL1, as well as a strong level for MCP-1, TNF-α, and IL-6. Furthermore, a moderate level of correlation was found in IFN-γ, IL-10, and IL-18. CONCLUSION: The increased levels of CXCL1, MCP-1, TNF-α, and IL-6, which had a high correlation with the duration of ischemia in patients with intestinal ischemia, may help clinicians with diagnoses and treatment decision-making.