Circulating lipopolysaccharides released from bacteria may activate both neutrophils and monocytes. The activated neutrophils release myeloperoxidase (MPO), a specific enzyme with strong oxidative activity. The aim of this study was to evaluate MPO enzyme activity in plasma of critically ill patients and to check the hypothesis that these concentrations in plasma would be higher in sepsis and systemic inflammatory conditions, as neutrophils release their contents before proliferating in response to stress.
Results
The plasma MPO enzyme activity in sepsis patients was significantly higher than that in the control group (mean, 2.4 ± 1.8 in sepsis and 1.86 ± 1.2 nmol per milligram protein per 10 minutes in systemic inflammatory response syndrome vs 0.32 ± 0.11 nmol per milligram protein per 10 minutes in healthy controls). Mean plasma lactate levels in sepsis (7.8 ± 1.2 mmol/L) and shock patients (9.5 ± 1.2 mmol/L) and cytokines like tumor necrosis factor–α, interleukin-8, and interleukin-1β were simultaneously evaluated to establish onset of inflammation and sepsis. These results show that neutrophil activation occurring during inflammation and sepsis could be detected by plasma MPO concentration
Conclusion : The plasma MPO concentrations may be a marker of the neutrophil proliferation and severity of inflammation
a Department of Anaesthesia, Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow, UP, India
b Pharmacology Division, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, UP, India
