Fig. 1.

Thermoregulatory responses of septic rats in a thermoneutral ambient temperature (28℃). Body temperature of sham and septic animals subjected to cecal ligation with 4 (CLP 4p—mild sepsis), 7 or 10 punctures (CLP 7p and CLP 10p, respectively—severe sepsis) (sham n = 8; CLP 4p n = 8; CLP 7p n = 7; CLP 10p n = 4) (a). Thermal index (area under the curve x time) of control and septic rats 2–5 h and 5–8 h after surgery (b). UCP1 expression in the BAT 12 h after sham or CLP surgery, values are represented as percentage of the control group (c). Heat loss index (HLI) variation (sham n = 8; CLP 4p n = 6; CLP 7p n = 7; CLP 10p n = 4) (d) and representative thermographic images (e) obtained 8 h after sepsis, the white arrows point to the Tsk measurement point. *p < 0.05 using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s or Kruskal–Wallis post hoc test # p < 0.05 compared to sham group $ p < 0.05 comparing sham vs. CLP 7p and CLP 10p @ p < 0.05 comparing sham vs. CLP 4p groups. Data are presented as mean ± SD. n = 4–8