SEP-8: UPREGULATION OF BVR ACTIVITIES IN WHITE BLOOD CELLS OF PATIENTS WITH SIRS AND SEPSIS

INTRODUCTION:SIRS (systemic inflammatory response syndrome) and sepsis are associated with increased oxidative stress. Oxidative stress activates endothelia, leads to adherence of leukocytes and induces oxidative modifications in membranes by lipid peroxidation. Biliverdin reductase (BVR) and heme oxygenase (HO) are important for the prevention of oxidative stress, activation of endothelial cells and leucocyte adherence. The cytoprotective effects of HO and BVR are supposed to be mediated by heme degradation products such as biliverdin (BV) and bilirubin (BR) forming a potent endogenous anti-oxidative system. Aim of the study was to investigate whether sepsis or SIRS lead to increased lipid peroxidation that associate with changes in the activity of BVR of human leukocytes. METHODS:Lipid peroxidation products (TBARS) were measured by a colorimetric test. BVR activities were determined in homogenized leukocyte pellets using an optimized enzyme-coupled spectrophotometric assay. RESULTS:BVR activity was significantly increased in samples of SIRS (1.39 ± 0.1 pkat/mg protein) and sepsis patients (1.6 ± 0.1 pkat/mg protein) compared to healthy controls (0.99 ± 0. 06 pkat/mg protein). TBARS correlated with BVR activity in the SIRS group (p