Arterial baroreflex (ABR) function is an important determinant factor in prognosis of many
cardiovascular diseases. The present work was designed to study the relationship between ABR function and the survival time of
septic shock in a cecal
ligation and
puncture (CLP) rat model. The dysfunction of ABR was introduced by sinoaortic
denervation (SAD). It was found that the survival time after CLP was significantly reduced in SAD rats compared with
sham-operated rats (12.7 +/- 2.92 hours versus 15.0 +/- 4.01 hours; P < 0.05). Furthermore, significant differences were also seen when the results were expressed by Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Compared with the baseline values, both
noradrenaline and
adrenaline significantly increased in both SAD and
Sham groups after CLP, but we found the baseline of
noradrenaline was significantly elevated in SAD rats. In addition, the
TNF-alpha,
noradrenaline, and
adrenaline levels of the SAD group were significantly higher than those of the
Sham group at 5 hours post-CLP. In conclusion, the present work demonstrates that ABR function was related to the survival time in CLP-induced lethal
shock model. The loss of inhibition in the sympathetic activity and in the release of some inflammatory
cytokines during CLP-induced
septic shock related to baroreflex and/or chemoreflex dysfunction may be the mechanisms involved in the poorer prognosis in
septic shock.