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Objective Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is a significant problem in the management of patients with acute limb ischemia (ALI). Despite rapid restoration of blood flow following technically successful open and endovascular revascularization, complications secondary to IR injury continue to occur and limit clinical success. Our aim was to create a murine model of hind limb IR injury to examine the role of Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4) and to determine whether inactive TLR4 led to a decrease in the detection of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which is known to be highly thrombogenic and may mediate microvascular injury. Methods A calibrated tension tourniquet was applied to unilateral hind limb of wild type (WT) and TLR4 receptor mutant (TLR4m) mice for 1.5 hours to induce ischemia and then immediately removed to initiate reperfusion. At the end of 48 hours of reperfusion, mice were sacrificed and hind limb tissue as well as serum specimens were collected for analysis. Hematoxylin and eosin stained sections of hind limb skeletal muscle tissue were examined for fiber injury. For immunohistochemistry, mouse monoclonal anti-histone H2A/H2B/DNA complex antibody to detect NETs and rabbit polyclonal anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) antibody were used to identify infiltrating cells containing MPO. Muscle ATP levels, nuclear NF-κB activity, IκBα, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) activity and iNOS expression were measured. Systemic levels of KC, MCP-1 and VEGF in the serum samples were also examined. Results IR injury in the hind limb of wild type mice demonstrated significant levels of muscle fiber injury, decreased energy substrates, increased NF-κB activation, decreased I-κBα levels, increased iNOS expression and increased PARP activity levels when compared to the TLR4 knockout mice samples. Additionally, there was marked decrease in the level of neutrophil and monocyte infiltration in the TLR4 mutant mice, which corresponded to similar levels of decreased NETs detection in the interstitial space and in microvascular thrombi. In situ nuclease treatment of wild-type tissue sections significantly diminished the level of NETs immunostaining demonstrating the specificity of our antibody to detect NETs and suggesting a potential role for nuclease treatment in IR injury. Conclusions These results suggest a pivotal role for TLR4 in mediating hind limb IR injury and suggest that NETs may contribute to muscle fiber injury.

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Internal bleeding is an injury that can be difficult to localize and effectively treat without invasive surgeries. Injectable polymeric nanoparticles have been developed that can reduce clotting times and blood loss, but they have yet to incorporate sufficient diagnostic capabilities to assist in identifying bleeding sources. Herein, polymeric nanoparticles were developed to simultaneously treat internal bleeding while incorporating tracers for visualization of the nanoparticles by standard clinical imaging modalities. Addition of 1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′tetramethylindodicarbocyanine perchlorate (DiD; a fluorescent dye), biotin functionality, and gold nanoparticles to hemostatic polymeric nanoparticles resulted in nanoparticles amenable to imaging with near-infrared (NIR) imaging, immunohistochemistry, and X-ray computed tomography (CT), respectively. Following a lethal liver resection injury, visualization of accumulated nanoparticles by multiple imaging methods was achieved in rodents, with the highest accumulation observed at the liver injury site, resulting in improved survival rates. Tracer addition to therapeutic nanoparticles allows for an expansion of their applicability, during stabilization by first responders to diagnosis and identification of unknown internal bleeding sites by clinicians using standard clinical imaging modalities.