Eine posttraumatische Östrogentherapie vermindert die durch ein stumpfes Thoraxtrauma induzierte Entzündungsreaktion

Blunt chest trauma is a very common accompanying injury in the context of polytrauma. Experimentally, blunt chest trauma causes a systemic inflammatory response as well as significantly increased Kupffer cell mediator release. 17β-estradiol is known to reduce Kupffer cell activation following various stress conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate whether 17β-estradiol influences Kupffer cell cytokine release after blunt chest trauma. To study this, male C3H/HeN mice were anesthetized and subjected to sham procedure or blunt chest trauma, which was induced by a single blast wave centered on the thorax. Thereafter, corn oil vehicle or 17β-estradiol was injected subcutaneously. Four hours following chest trauma or sham procedure Kupffer cells were isolated, stimulated (1 µg/ml LPS for 24 hours) and TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10 release as well as plasma IL-6 and 17β-estradiol levels were measured by ELISA. 17β-estradiol administration following blunt chest trauma results in a significantly decreased cytokine release of Kupffer cells and in reduced plasma concentrations of IL-6, when compared to vehicle treated animals subjected to chest trauma. These results indicate that 17β-estradiol attenuates the systemic inflammatory response after blunt chest trauma. Since 17β-estradiol is effective when administered posttraumatically, the therapeutic potential in trauma patients should be assessed.