Cervical sympathetic trunk transection alleviates acute lung injury caused by intestinal obstruction via inhibition of phospholipase A(2) in rats

BACKGROUND: Intestinal obstruction can result in inflammatory injury to distant organs, especially the lungs. Stellate ganglion block (SGB) provides sympathetic nervous homeostasis and inhibits the systemic inflammatory response. This study aimed to investigate whether SGB can alleviate acute lung injury by inhibiting phospholipase A(2) expression in rats. METHODS: Thirty healthy male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided into three groups: C group (sham-operated); CLP group (cecal ligation and puncture with intestinal obstruction), and cervical sympathetic trunk transection (CSTT) group (transection of the cervical sympathetic trunk following CLP).Arterial blood samples were obtained to determine the ratio of partial arterial pressure of oxygen (PaO(2)) to fraction of oxygen in inspired air (FiO(2)). Venous blood samples were used to evaluate the serum concentrations of chemokines, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Following euthanasia, the lungs were isolated to estimate the wet/dry lung weight (W/D) ratio, evaluate the pathological damage to lung tissues on microscopy, and determine secretory-type phospholipase A(2) (sPLA(2)) expression using western blotting. RESULTS: Rats in the CLP group showed increased fatigue, decreased activity levels, and coarse, gray hair. The levels of chemokines, TNF-α, and IL-6 in the CLP and CSTT groups were higher than those in the C group. However, the levels were lower in the CSTT group than those in the CLP group. IL-10 levels in the CLP group were higher and lower than those in the C and CSTT groups, respectively. W/D ratios and PaO(2)/FiO(2) in the CLP and CSTT groups were higher than those in the C group, whereas these ratios in the CSTT group were lower than those in the CLP group. No lung injury was noted in group C, and the lung injury scores were lower in the CSTT group than those in the CLP group. sPLA(2) expression levels in the CLP group were higher than those in the C group, whereas these levels in the CSTT group were lower than those in the CLP group. CONCLUSIONS: sPLA(2) overexpression in the lungs may be a pathogenic factor in acute lung injury. CSTT alleviated acute lung injury by inhibiting sPLA(2) expression. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12871-022-01814-2.