Salidroside rescued mice from experimental sepsis through anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptosis effects Shanshan Liu, MD, a,b,1 Xiongwei Yu, MD, a,c,1 Baoji Hu, MD, a,d Yun Zou, MD, a Jinbao Li, MD, PhD, a Lulong Bo, MD, PhD, a, ** and Xiaoming Deng, MD, PhD a, * a Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, China b Department of Anesthesiology, Chenggong Hospital, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China c Department of Anesthesiology, 285th Hospital of CPLA, Handan, China d Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Pudong Hospital, Fudan University Pudong Medical Center, Shanghai, China article info Article history: Received 1 December 2014 Received in revised form 2 January 2015 Accepted 12 January 2015 Available online xxx Keywords: Experimental sepsis Proinflammatory response Apoptosis Bacterial clearance Traditional Chinese medicine abstract Background: Salidroside (SDS) is the main effective component of Rhodiola rosea L with a variety of pharmacologic properties. The objective of this study was to investigate the ef- ficacy of SDS in the treatment of experimental sepsis in mice and explore the possible underlying action mechanisms. Methods: Sepsis was induced in C57BL/6 male mice via cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The animals were divided into three groups as follows: sham, CLP, and CLP plus SDS. SDS (50 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 1 h after operation. Postoperative survival of the mice, bacterial clearance in blood and peritoneal lavage fluid, cytokine secretion in blood, and histology of lung were evaluated. In addition, apoptosis of immune cells in the spleen and thymus were examined, respectively. Results: SDS administration prolonged the survival of the septic mice, inhibited the proinflammatory responses, and enhanced bacterial clearance. It also alleviated the pathologic changes in the lung and inhibited the apoptosis of immune cells in the spleen and thymus after CLP challenge. Conclusions: SDS exerts a protective effect in CLP-induced sepsis by attenuating the proinflammatory responses, enhancing bacterial clearance, and preserving adaptive im- munity. SDS may be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of sepsis. ª 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. Tel.: þ86 21 31161837; fax: þ86 21 81873484. ** Corresponding author. Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China. Tel.: þ86 21 31161886; fax: þ86 21 81873484. E-mail addresses: nbastars@126.com (L. Bo), deng_x@yahoo.com (X. Deng). 1 S.L. and X.Y. contributed equally to the article. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.JournalofSurgicalResearch.com journal of surgical research xxx (2015) 1 e7 0022-4804/$ e see front matter ª 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2015.01.021