Journal of Bioterrorism & Biodefense
Open Access

Abstract

Exposure to toxic fumes from bio-attack can cause decrease oxygen uptake and thus lead to hypoxic shock (HS). One of the most common HS induced injuries is respiratory muscle failure, which causes subsequent heart attack and even death if not treated in time. Therefore, it is essential to develop novel therapies to increase respiratory muscle's resistance to HS. In this study, we hypothesized that hypoxic preconditioning (HPC) significantly improves diaphragm function during severe hypoxic conditions. For Chronic HPC protocols, each mouse was treated with a hypoxic condition (40 Torr Po2 ) for 2 min followed by room air (160 Torr Po2 ) exposure for 2 min. This cycle was repeated five times every day for two weeks in order to "precondition" the mice to develop resistance to hypoxia. After treatments, the diaphragms were removed from the mice and transferred to a hypoxic solution (40 Torr Po2 ) for 30 min to simulate a severe HS condition. For acute HPC protocols, the diaphragms were removed and immediately subject to five cycles of HPC prior to HS. After chronic or acute HPC treatment, both maximal and fatigue tensions of diaphragm were significantly increased compared to control during HS (n=4, P<0.05). This is the first study to indicate that HPC treatments play a vital role for the diaphragmatic muscle to develop a substantial resistance to HS, shedding a new perspective on therapeutic treatment for HS injuries induced by toxic fumes

Biography

Li Zuo has completed his Ph.D from the Ohio State University. He serves as ad hoc journal reviewer for reputed journals including Aging Cell, Free Radical Biology and Medicine, American Journal of Physiology, and Methods in Enzymology. His current projects are geared towards investigating how to prevent cardiac and respiratory failure with variable preconditioning protocols