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Ann Thorac Surg 2007;83:895-901
© 2007 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
a Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland, Oregon
b Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Accepted for publication October 16, 2006.
* Address correspondence to Dr Hickey, CHSS Data Center 555 University Ave, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada (Email: edward.hickey{at}sickkids.ca).
Presented at the Basic Science Forum of the Fifty-second Annual Meeting of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Orlando, FL, Nov 1012, 2005.
| The Hawley H. Seiler Resident Award is presented annually to the resident with the oral presentation and manuscript deemed the best of those submitted for competition. This Award was inaugurated in 1997 to honor Dr Seiler for his contributions and dedicated service to the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association.
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| Abstract |
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Methods: Twenty neonatal piglets were randomized to CPB with miniaturized circuitry using either blood (group 1) or bloodless (group 2) prime. At 18°C, piglets underwent 60 minutes of either (A) deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) or (B) continuous low-flow bypass (DHCLF). Analysis of cerebral blood flow (CBF) was undertaken before and after CPB in addition to quantification of circulating tumor necrosis factor-
(TNF
) and intracerebral TNF
messenger RNA (mRNA).
Results: The final hematocrit in group 2 was 22% versus 28% (p < 0.05). The CBF fell in every animal in group 1A, but increased in every animal in group 2A (p < 0.001), despite no overall change in total cardiac output. The use of DHCLF was not associated with pronounced trends in either prime group. Final serum TNF
concentrations were significantly higher in group 1B (3166 ± 843 pg/mL) than group 2B (439 ± 192 pg/mL; p < 0.05). Irrespective of the CPB strategy used, the use of a blood prime generated significantly higher levels of intracerebral TNF
mRNA.
Conclusions: We attribute the hyperemic cerebrovascular response to reduced inflammation through avoiding allogeneic whole blood. The analysis of circulating and intracerebral TNF
in this study suggests that DHCLF in conjunction with a bloodless prime might offer advantages through avoiding ischemia, no-reflow, and in addition, resulting in a significantly reduced cerebral inflammatory response.
Conventional neonatal cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) requires the use of a blood prime to prevent unacceptable hemodilution. Severe hemodilution is a problem not only for red blood celldependent gas transport but also for platelet-dependent and humoral factordependent coagulation and protein-dependent intravascular oncotic pressure [1]. However, the use of blood in both adult and infant CPB is now being scrutinized, and early indications have confirmed that avoiding its use is associated with improved recovery [2, 3].
Periods of ischemia during deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) have been implicated in subsequent neurologic deficit [4]. A consistent feature of DHCA in experimental models is the abnormal recovery of cerebral blood flow (CBF) after the ischemic period, a phenomenon termed "no-reflow" [5]. Methods that alleviate no-reflow are associated with improved neurologic recovery [5, 6]. No-reflow is believed to have both mechanical and physiologic components. Inflammatory debris may occlude the capillary bed [7], and an imbalance in vasoactive mediators, including endothin-1, nitric oxide, and eicosanoids, may contribute to dysfunction of cerebral autoregulation [8].
To prevent unwanted effects of ischemia, several novel strategies have been introduced, including deep hypothermic continuous low flow (DHCLF) [9]. The consequences for cerebral reperfusion after DHCLF are less well defined, but cerebrovascular abnormalities have been described to a lesser degree [10].
We aimed to examine the benefits a bloodless prime circuit may confer on cerebral recovery after deep hypothermic CPB. Because the pathophysiology of cerebral no-reflow may have an inflammatory component, and because our experimental model of bloodless prime neonatal CPB is associated with reduced systemic inflammation, we hypothesized it may also beneficially impact cerebral no-reflow. We therefore placed animals on CPB using a further miniaturized circuit primed with either whole blood or crystalloid. After exposing them to a strategy of either DHCA or DHCLF, we examined cerebral perfusion using the fluorescent microsphere technique. In addition, we examined both the systemic and local cerebral inflammatory response through the quantification of circulating tumor necrosis factor-
(TNF
) or its intracerebral messenger RNA (mRNA).
| Material and Methods |
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Twenty neonatal piglets (2 to 5 kg) were randomized equally to two groups according to the composition of the CPB prime. Group 1 was exposed to a miniaturized circuit primed with fresh whole blood harvested from an adult donor pig on the day of surgery; group 2 was exposed to a miniaturized circuit with a modified bloodless prime. During CPB, animals within each group were randomly subdivided equally to a strategy of either DHCA (A) or DHCLF (B).
The surgical protocol was as described previously [11]. Briefly, after premedication with 8 mg/kg Telozole (Baxter Healthcare, Round Lake, IL) and anesthetic induction (0.5% isofluorane, fentanyl citrate, 25 µg/kg), surgical tracheotomy was performed to allow controlled ventilation, maintaining arterial oxygen and carbon dioxide tensions within normal limits. Rectal and esophageal temperature probes were placed for core temperature monitoring, and catheters were inserted into the right femoral artery and vein for sampling and pressure monitoring.
Through a median sternotomy, a pulmonary artery ultrasonic flow probe (Transonic Systems, Ithica, NY) was placed around the main pulmonary artery for measurement of cardiac output. A catheter was inserted into the left atrial appendage for post-CPB injection of fluorescent microspheres. After systemic heparinization, the aortic root and right atrial appendage were cannulated (DLP Inc, Grand Rapids, MI) through purse-string sutures. Normothermic CPB was established at a rate of 100 to 150 mL/(kg · min) to maintain mean arterial pressures of 50 mm Hg.
The animal was then perfusion-cooled using a pH-stat strategy over a minimum of 30 minutes until both probes had stabilized at 18°C, and the heart and head were then packed in ice. In groups 1A and 2A (DHCA), CPB was stopped and the arterial line was clamped for 60 minutes. In groups 1B and 2B (DHCLF), the pump flow was reduced to 50 mL/(kg · min) for the 60-minute period. Full-flow CPB was then reinstituted and rewarming initiated with the use of sodium bicarbonate (8.4%) as necessary. The animal was rewarmed during a minimum duration of 30 minutes, ensuring a mean arterial pressure of 50 mm Hg, and weaned from CPB. Thirty minutes after discontinuation of CPB, the animal was euthanized with 1 mL/kg phenytoin sodium (Euthasol, Baxter Healthcare).
Miniaturized Circuit
The miniaturized extracorporeal circuit included the following: a Cobe Century (Cobe Cardiovascular, Arvada, CO) roller pump console; an infant oxygenator-reservoir (Capiox-Baby RX-05, Terumo, Tokyo, Japan); Cobe tubing packs including a 3/16-inch internal diameter arterial catheter (60 cm) and a 1/4-inch venous catheter (30 cm). The pump boot was a 3/16-inch catheter (raceway 43 cm). Venous return was vacuum assisted (20 mm Hg). A left ventricular vent was routinely inserted through an apical purse-string suture for decompression of the ventricular cavity. The prime constituents and circuit are illustrated in Figure 1. For group 1, blood was harvested from an adult donor animal under sterile conditions and general anesthetic on the day of surgery and stored at 4°C in citrate-phosphate-dextrose until used [11].
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Analysis of Cerebral Blood Flow
CBF measurements were determined by the reference-sample, fluorescent-labeled microsphere technique [12]. Briefly, suspensions of microspheres with a diameter of 15.5 ± 0.1 µm (Biopal Inc, Worcester, MA) containing approximately 5 x 106 microspheres were used for each injection. The microspheres were injected through either the sidearm of the aortic cannula (data point 1) or through the left atrial cannula (data point 2) to ensure thorough mixing of the microspheres before arrival at the aortic root. The injection was performed over 30 seconds and flushed with warm saline.
A reference blood sample was withdrawn from the distal aorta at a constant rate using a Harvard syringe pump (Harvard Apparatus, Holliston, MA) through the femoral artery. This withdrawal commenced 10 seconds before microsphere injection and continued for a total of 3 minutes.
After euthanasia, the brain was removed and cerebral hemispheres dissected. Three representative samples of cortical grey matter of approximately 2 grams each were weighed fresh and dried together with reference blood samples overnight at 70°C. Samples were subsequently analyzed to estimate the quantity of each type of fluorescent-labeled microsphere present in each sample (Biophysics Assay, Biopal Inc). The withdrawal rate of the reference blood sample and the ratio of counts from a cortical specimen to the reference blood sample allowed calculation of the cerebral blood flow.
Tumor Necrosis Factor-
Assay
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) porcine cytokine kit (R & D Systems Inc, Minneapolis, MN) was used to assay the serum concentration of TNF-
as previously described by our laboratory [11].
Analysis of Intracerebral Tumor Necrosis Factor-
Messenger RNA
Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to determine TNF
mRNA concentrations using techniques similar to others [13]. Pairs of 20mer primers were used to amplify a 146bp region of pig GAPDH (GenBank Accession # AF017079), a 178bp region of pig 18S (GenBank Accession # AY265350.1), and a 111bp region of pig TNF
(GenBank Accession # NM_214022). Primer sequences were as follows: Pig GAPDH Fwd: TCGGCATCGTGGAAGGACTC, Rev: AGCCTTGGCAGCACCAGTAG; Pig 18S ribosomal RNA Fwd: CGGAACTGAGGCCATGATTA, Rev: TCGGAACTACGACGGTATCT; Pig TNF
Fwd: CCAATGGCAGAGTGGGTATG, Rev: TTGATCTCGGCACTGAGTCG (for RT reaction), Rev 2: AGGACCTGGGAGTAGATGAG (for PCR reaction).
Total RNA was isolated from 100-mg chunks of flash-frozen forebrain grey matter using the RNeasy Tissue Lipid Kit (Qiagen Inc, Valencia, CA). A series of dilutions were made from a single pig forebrain RNA sample, which were used to make a standard curve. A 1:25 dilution was made of each sample RNA. For each standard RNA and sample RNA, a reverse transcription reaction was performed with SuperScript II RNase-H RT (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). The primers used for reverse transcription were the Pig 18S Rev, 3' phosphorylated 18S Rev, Pig GAPDH Rev, and Pig TNF
Rev primers.
PCR reactions were performed on a LightCycler Instrument (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN), using the Quantitect SYBR Green PCR Kit (Qiagen). Fluorescence was plotted as a function of temperature to allow the determination of the specific Tm for each product. Relative quantification was undertaken as follows. For each primer pair (GAPDH fwd + rev, 18S fwd + rev, and TNFa fwd + rev), a separate PCR reaction was run for six standard curve samples, each unknown sample, and the four RT replicate samples. The threshold cycle for each standard curve sample was plotted against the log concentration of that sample. Complimentary DNA from unknown samples was diluted 1:25, and the concentration of each amplicon was calculated based on the equation derived from the standard curve. Concentrations of the TNF
mRNA were then calculated for each sample by comparison with the two housekeeping genes, GADPH and 18S.
Statistical Analysis
All data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. Paired Student t tests were used to compare pre-CPB and post-CPB measurements within groups, and unpaired t tests were used to compare the two different groups within the same CPB strategy. Statistical significance was tested to the 95% confidence limit.
| Results |
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Load
concentrations were significantly higher post-CPB after DHCLF with a blood prime (group 1B; 3166 ± 843 pg/mL) than DHCLF using a bloodless prime (group 2B; 439 ± 192 pg/mL; p = 0.01; Fig 5). By contrast, TNF
concentrations were similar between groups exposed to DHCA, regardless of whether blood (group 1A, 1179 ± 914 pg/mL) was used or not (group 2A, 1626 ± 852 pg/mL). Three samples of donor blood were analyzed, revealing a mean of 213 ± 89 pg/mL.
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Messenger RNA
mRNA within sampled cerebral cortex is shown in Fig 6. After DHCLF with a blood prime (group 1B), mean TNF
mRNA levels were elevated 2.2 ± 1.0-fold or 2.2 ± 1.19-fold (GADPH and 18S RNA respectively), whereas the same strategy using a bloodless prime (group 2B) revealed only negligible levels (0.30 ± 0.1-fold and 0.29 ± 0.08-fold, respectively; p = 0.09). A similar pattern was observed after DHCA (2.3 ± 1.3 and 2.2 ± 1.2 versus 0.70 ± 0.21 and 0.64 ± 0.14; p = 0.13 and p = 0.12, respectively). Overall, irrespective of the CPB strategy, the use of blood generated significantly elevated levels of intracerebral TNF
mRNA (2.3 ± 1.11-fold and 2.1 ± 1.1-fold versus 0.5 ± .17; p = 0.03; and 0.5 ± .14-fold; p = 0.04, respectively; Fig 7).
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| Comment |
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This study examines experimental no-reflow in a neonatal model that avoids the use of donor blood. Previous studies have required large volumes of allogeneic whole blood and have repeatedly demonstrated a significant cerebral no-reflow after DHCA [22, 23]. We have instead observed here a mild hyperemic response in the early reperfusion period. The mechanisms behind these observations are unclear. The small differences in hematocrit between groups (22% versus 28%), and a corresponding fall in CBF as a proportion of total cardiac output suggest that it is unlikely to be solely due to hemodilution necessarily resulting from a bloodless prime. In fact, other groups have studied the influence of hemodilution and report significant elevations in CBF only when the hematocrit falls below 15% [24].
The fact that cerebral no-reflow probably has an inflammatory component makes it attractive to speculate that our observations may be attributed to the lesser inflammatory response associated with bloodless prime CPB. This notion is supported by the demonstration of improved cerebral no-reflow through the targeting of individual components of the inflammatory response. Leukocyte filtration [5], platelet activating factor antagonism [25], and steroid administration [26] all improve CBF after DHCA. Recently, the inhibition of platelet activation through glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonism has been shown to increase cerebral microvascular flow after DHCA, apparently through a reduction in platelet plugging [27]. We therefore suggest that the capability of the brain to exhibit a mild hyperemic response after DHCA is due to the reduced inflammatory load from avoiding allogeneic blood.
In non-CPB piglet studies of global cerebral ischemia, no preexisting inflammatory response is present, and a hyperemic response early in the reperfusion period is frequently seen [28]. This is then followed by a more sustained depression of cerebral blood flow (no-reflow) [29]. It may be that a similar phenomenon is occurring in this present model, but an extended survival period would be required to investigate this. Ischemiaeither total or partialis the common denominator in models exhibiting no-reflow. Although regional cerebral perfusion abnormalities occur during DHCLF, this is less consistently the case [10]. The variability in the CBF response seen in this study after DHCLF probably reflects this, and our choice to use a fixed low-flow rate that is independent of pressure.
This study supports previous reports from our laboratory suggesting that a bloodless prime is less inflammatory [11]. This difference is most pronounced when using DHCLF, probably due to the longer dynamic exposure to the extracorporeal circuit during continuous perfusion techniques; increased inflammation is a major expense associated with adopting continuous perfusion technique [30]. However, cerebral ischemia itself generates TNF
, and it is interesting that the group exposed to neither blood nor DHCA yielded the lowest levels of both systemic circulating TNF
, and intracerebral TNF
mRNA. It may be, therefore, that the inflammatory consequences of continuous perfusion techniques can be offset by the use of a bloodless prime whilst simultaneously avoiding periods of cerebral ischemia.
We have used TNF
as an experimental inflammatory marker because of its role as an apical cytokine capable of activating almost all arms of the downstream innate immune system. The importance of the inflammatory responsebut TNF
in particularin cerebral injury is now beginning to be recognized. In fact, TNF
(and interleukin-1ß) can itself initiate neuronal apoptosis in the absence of ischemia in neonatal models of perinatal brain injury [31]. In both global and regional stroke models, TNF
amplifies neuronal loss [32], and its antagonism is protective [33]. The demonstration here that deep hypothermic CPB using a bloodless prime leads to significantly less local production of TNF
in the brain is highly relevant.
There are two principal limitations of this study. First, we have only examined a brief window in the early post-CPB period. It would be extremely interesting to investigate a series of time-points in the postoperative period. Serial measurements were not possible in this study because of the progressive hemodilution that occurs with every data point. Longer survival would be difficult without postoperative blood administration, which would confuse the picture. Second, we have compared the use of fresh whole blood with an asanguinous prime. This does not address the role of packed red blood cells in exacerbating CPB-induced inflammation, and we can make no conclusions from this study to specifically avoid the use of leukocyte-depleted blood, the predominant form of red blood cells now in clinical practice.
This study, which represents our continued pursuit for more routine elimination of blood products in neonatal CPB, examined the cerebral recovery after deep hypothermic CPB using a bloodless prime. A hyperemic cerebrovascular response was observed after deep hypothermic circulatory arrest despite no overall change in cardiac output, and use of a bloodless prime was associated with significantly reduced cerebral production of TNF
.
Our continued pursuit of the study of circuit miniaturization has only been possible through the support of generous grants from the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon and the Childrens Heart Foundation, who have funded this and related preliminary work in our laboratory.
| Footnotes |
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| References |
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