A Neonatal Murine Sepsis Model Demonstrates That Adjunctive Pentoxifylline Enhances the Ratio of Anti- vs. Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in Blood and Organ Tissues.

Neonatal sepsis triggers an inflammatory response that contributes to mortality and multiple organ injury. Pentoxifylline (PTX), a phosphodiesterase inhibitor which suppresses pro-inflammatory cytokines, is a candidate adjunctive therapy for newborn sepsis. We hypothesized that administration of PTX in addition to antibiotics decreases live bacteria-induced pro-inflammatory and/or enhances anti-inflammatory cytokine production in septic neonatal mice without augmenting bacterial growth.