Spinal cord injury enhances lung inflammation and exacerbates immune response following exposure to LPS

This study investigates how spinal cord injury (SCI) affects lung inflammation and immune responses after exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a substance that mimics bacterial infection. It focuses on SCI at the T9 level in mice. The research found that SCI significantly increases lung inflammation and the release of inflammatory substances called cytokines in response to LPS exposure. This suggests that SCI can worsen lung-related complications, like pneumonia. The study also showed that bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from mice with SCI are more responsive to LPS, indicating that SCI can affect the behavior of immune cells and contribute to heightened inflammation in the lungs.

• 1
  Spinal cord injury (SCI) at the T9 level amplifies lung inflammation in mice following exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), as evidenced by increased pro-inflammatory gene expression and cytokine release.
• 2
  SCI enhances inflammatory cell infiltration, particularly neutrophils and macrophages, into the lung tissue after LPS exposure, indicating a heightened immune response in the lungs of SCI mice.
• 3
  Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from SCI mice exhibit increased glycolytic activity and a hyper-responsive state to LPS, suggesting that SCI can alter the maturation and function of immune cells.