Oxidative cross-linking of plasma membrane arabinogalactan proteins

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Endotoxin is a powerful trigger of systemic inflammation. Since cardiac surgery exposes patients to endotoxemia, this study was set up to define the relationship between preoperative endogenous endotoxin immune status, gut perfusion, and outcome following cardiac valve replacement surgery. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-nine consecutive patients undergoing cardiac valve replacement. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Blood was assayed for IgG and IgM endotoxin core antibody (EndoCAb) levels preoperatively, immediately postoperatively, and at 4 h and 24 h postoperatively. Intraoperative gut mucosal perfusion was assessed using gastric tonometry. Complications were assessed for groups above and below the median EndoCAb value of a healthy population (100 median units micro/mL). Of the 59 patients, 12 developed at least one of a set of predefined complications. Of these 12, all had preoperative levels of IgM EndoCAb below 100 MU/mL (p<0.025). Eleven had IgG EndoCAb levels below 100 MU/mL (0.05