Splanchnic sympathetic nerve denervation improves bacterial clearance and clinical recovery in established ovine Gram-negative bacteremia

BACKGROUND: The autonomic nervous system can modulate the innate immune responses to bacterial infections via the splanchnic sympathetic nerves. Here, we aimed to determine the effects of bilateral splanchnic sympathetic nerve denervation on blood pressure, plasma cytokines, blood bacterial counts and the clinical state in sheep with established bacteremia. METHODS: Conscious Merino ewes received an intravenous infusion of Escherichia coli for 30 h (1 × 10(9) colony forming units/mL/h) to induce bacteremia. At 24 h, sheep were randomized to have bilaterally surgically implanted snares pulled to induce splanchnic denervation (N = 10), or not pulled (sham; N = 9). RESULTS: Splanchnic denervation did not affect mean arterial pressure (84 ± 3 vs. 84 ± 4 mmHg, mean ± SEM; P(Group) = 0.7) compared with sham treatment at 30-h of bacteremia. Splanchnic denervation increased the plasma levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (9.2 ± 2.5 vs. 3.8 ± 0.3 ng/mL, P(Group) = 0.031) at 25-h and reduced blood bacterial counts (2.31 ± 0.45 vs. 3.45 ± 0.11 log10 [CFU/mL + 1], P(Group) = 0.027) at 26-h compared with sham treatment. Plasma interleukin-6 and blood bacterial counts returned to sham levels by 30-h. There were no differences in the number of bacteria present within the liver (P(Group) = 0.3). However, there was a sustained improvement in clinical status, characterized by reduced respiratory rate (P(Group) = 0.024) and increased cumulative water consumption (P(Group) = 0.008) in splanchnic denervation compared with sham treatment. CONCLUSION: In experimental Gram-negative bacteremia, interrupting splanchnic sympathetic nerve activity increased plasma interleukin-6, accelerated bacterial clearance, and improved clinical state without inducing hypotension. These findings suggest that splanchnic neural manipulation is a potential target for pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40635-023-00530-6.