The intestinal lymph pathway plays an important role in the pathogenesis of organ injury following superior mesenteric artery occlusion (SMAO) shock. We hypothesized that mesenteric lymph reperfusion (MLR) is a major cause of spleen injury after SMAO shock. To test this hypothesis, SMAO shock was induced in Wistar rats by clamping the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) for 1 h, followed by reperfusion for 2 h. Similarly, MLR was performed by clamping the mesenteric lymph duct (MLD) for 1 h, followed by reperfusion for 2 h. In the MLR+SMAO group rats, both the SMA and MLD were clamped and then released for reperfusion for 2 h. SMAO shock alone elicited: 1) splenic structure injury, 2) increased levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide (NO), intercellular adhesion molecule-1, endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide receptor (CD14), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein, and tumor necrosis factor-α, 3) enhanced activities of NO synthase and myeloperoxidase, and 4) decreased activities of superoxide dismutase and ATPase. MLR following SMAO shock further aggravated these deleterious effects. We conclude that MLR exacerbates spleen injury caused by SMAO shock, which itself is associated with oxidative stress, excessive release of NO, recruitment of polymorphonuclear neutrophils, endotoxin translocation, and enhanced inflammatory responses.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar uma análise estrutural e funcional do GSC (Giant Strong Component) da rede metabólica de Bacillus thurigiensis. Baseando-se na estrutura bow-tie, o GSC foi extraído e analisado quanto ao sue significado funcional. Propriedades estruturais globais tais como grau de distribuição e tamanho médio da via metabólica foram mensuradas, concluindo-se que o GSC é também uma rede small world e scalefree. Além disso, a rede GSC foi decomposta e as divisões com significância funcional no metabolismo foram comparadas às vias metabólicas KEGG.

The purpose of this work was to study the giant strong component (GSC) of B. thuringiensis metabolic network by structural and functional analysis. Based on so-called "bow tie" structure, we extracted and studied GSC with its functional significance. Global structural properties such as degree distribution and average path length were computed and indicated that the GSC is also a small-world and scale-free network. Furthermore, the GSC was decomposed and functional significant for metabolism of these divisions were investigated by comparing to KEGG metabolic pathways.