Laboratory data and cytokine levels in the blood.

<p>A: Marked elevation of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine in the blood was detected in lipopolysacchride (LPS)-injected mice, and treatment with aldose reductase inhibitor (ARI) either before or after LPS injection significantly suppressed to 50% for BUN and to nearly normal for creatinine. There was no difference in the values between ARI pretreatment and posttreatment. B: Serum concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were all markedly increased in LPS-injected mice, while they were undetectable in LPS-free mice. Treatment with ARI either before or after the LPS injection significantly suppressed the elevations of IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1 to about 50% whereas TNF-α elevation was repressed to almost to normal. There were no significant differences in the values of any cytokines between pretreatment and posttreatment. Each group consists of 6∼8 animals. Bar stands for mean ± SE. C: Control, L: LPS-injected group, Pre: LPS+ARI-pretreatment group, Post: LPS+ARI-posttreatment group. *p<0.01 vs Control, **p<0.01 vs LPS, †p<0.05 vs LPS.