Summary β‐arrestins 1 and 2 are ubiquitously expressed proteins that alter signalling by G‐protein‐coupled receptors. β‐arrestin 2 plays an important role as a signalling adaptor and scaffold in regulating cellular inflammatory responses. We hypothesized that β‐arrestin 2 is a critical modulator of inflammatory response in experimental sepsis. β‐arrestin 2(−/−) and wild‐type (WT) mice were subjected to caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The survival rate was significantly decreased (P < 0·05) in β‐arrestin 2(−/−) mice (13% survival) compared with WT mice (53% survival). A second group of mice were killed 18 hr after CLP for blood, peritoneal lavage and tissue sample collection. CLP‐induced plasma interleukin (IL)‐6 was significantly increased 25 ± 12 fold and caecal myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity was increased 2·4 ± 0·3 fold in β‐arrestin 2(−/−) compared with WT mice. β‐arrestin 2(−/−) mice exhibited more severe lung damage and higher bacterial loads compared with WT mice post CLP challenge as measured by histopathology and colony‐forming unit count. In subsequent experiments, splenocytes, peritoneal macrophages and bone marrow‐derived macrophages (BMDMs) were isolated and cultured from β‐arrestin 2(−/−) and WT mice and stimulated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐10 production induced by LPS was significantly augmented (2·2 ± 0·2 fold, 1·8 ± 0·1 fold, and 2·2 ± 0·4 fold, respectively; P < 0·05) in splenocytes from β‐arrestin 2(−/−) mice compared with WT mice. The splenocyte response was different from that of peritoneal macrophages or BMDMs, which exhibited no difference in TNF‐α and IL‐6 production upon LPS stimulation between WT and β‐arrestin 2(−/−) mice. Our data demonstrate that β‐arrestin 2 functions to negatively regulate the inflammatory response in polymicrobial sepsis.

Rationale: Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been associated with human sepsis but their role is incompletely understood. Stromal cell-derived factor (SDF)-1a facilitates EPC recruitment and is elevated in murine sepsis models. Previous studies have demonstrated that the SDF-1a analog CTCE-0214 (CTCE) is beneficial in polymicrobial sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) in mice.Objectives: We hypothesized that exogenously administered EPCs are also beneficial in CLP sepsis and that CTCE provides synergistic benefit.Methods: Mice were subjected to CLP and administered EPCs at varying doses, CTCE, or a combination of the two. Mouse survival, plasma miRNA expression, IL-10 production, and lung vascular leakage were determined. The in vitro effect of CTCE on miRNA expression and EPC function were determined.Measurements and Main Results: Survival was improved with EPC therapy at a threshold of 10 6 cells. In coculture studies, EPCs augmented LPS-induced macrophage IL-10 production. In vivo EPC administration in sepsis increased plasma IL-10, suppressed lung vascular leakage, attenuated liver and kidney injury, and augmented miR-126 and -125b expression, which regulate endothelial cell function and/or inflammation. When subthreshold numbers of EPCs were coadministered with CTCE in CLP mice they synergistically improved survival. We demonstrated that CTCE recruits endogenous EPCs in septic mice. In in vitro analysis, CTCE enhanced EPC proliferation, angiogenesis, and prosurvival signaling while inhibiting EPC senescence. These cellular effects were, in part, explained by the effect of CTCE on miR-126, -125b, -34a, and -155 expression in EPCs.Conclusions: EPCs and CTCE represent important potential therapeutic strategies in sepsis.

Background: A cardinal feature of many neurological disorders is mitochondrial dysfunction. Results: Knocking down neutral ceramidase reduces mitochondrial sphingosine, preserves mitochondrial function, and improves brain function recovery after trauma. Conclusion: Activation of the sphingosine-generating pathway plays a significant role in promoting mitochondrial injury. Significance: This is the first direct evidence of endogenous sphingosine involvement in regulation of mitochondrial function.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines play critical roles in autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recently, it has been reported that β-arrestin 1 and 2 are involved in the regulation of inflammation. We hypothesized that β-arrestin 1 and 2 play critical roles in murine models of RA. Using a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and a human TNFα transgenic (TNFtg) mouse model, we demonstrated that β-arrestin 1 and 2 expression are significantly increased in joint tissue of CIA mice and TNFtg mice. In fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) isolated from hind knee joint of CIA mice, we observed an increase of β-arrestin 1 and 2 protein and mRNA levels in the early stage of arthritis. In FLS, low molecular weight hyaluronan (HA)-induced TNFα and IL-6 production was increased by overexpression of β-arrestin 1 but decreased by overexpression of β-arrestin 2 demonstrating isoform specific regulation. TNFα and HA induced an increase of β-arrestin 1 and 2 expression in FLS, while high mobility group box (HMGB)-1 only stimulated β-arrestin 1 expression. TNFα- or HA- induced β-arrestin 2 expression was blocked by a p38 inhibitor. To examine the in vivo role of β-arrestin 2 in the pathogenesis of arthritis, WT and β-arrestin 2 KO mice were subjected to collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA). β-arrestin 2 KO mice exhibited more severe arthritis in CAIA. Thus β-arrestin 2 is anti-inflammatory in CAIA. These composite observations suggest that β-arrestin 1 and 2 differentially regulate FLS inflammation and increased β-arrestin 2 may reduce experimental arthritis severity.

The chemokine CXC receptor 4 (CXCR4) is activated by stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1α). CXCR4 may be part of a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) sensing co-clustering complex that modulates TLR4 activation and evidence suggest that SDF-1α can activate anti-inflammatory signaling pathways and suppress inflammation. In the present study we examined the hypothesis that the SDF-1α peptide analog and CXCR4 agonist CTCE-0214 is anti-inflammatory in three distinct models of murine systemic inflammation. Our findings demonstrate that CTCE-0214 in vivo significantly suppressed plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) increases in acute endotoxemia and following zymosan-induced multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). In both models, CTCE-0214 did not suppress plasma increases in the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10. CTCE-0214 improved survival without antibiotics in a model of severe sepsis induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). CTCE-0214 also decreased plasma increases in IL-6 but not TNF-α and IL-10 in response to CLP-induced inflammation. We demonstrated in a moderately severe model of CLP (one puncture) that IL-6 levels at 24 h were similar to sham controls. However in severe CLP (two punctures) plasma IL-6 levels were markedly elevated. Plasma SDF-1α levels varied inversely with the plasma IL-6. In addition to the beneficial effect of CTCE-0214 in these models of systemic inflammation in vivo, we also demonstrated that the analog dose dependently suppressed LPS-induced IL-6 production in bone marrow-derived macrophages. CTCE-0214 therefore may be beneficial in controlling inflammation sepsis and systemic inflammatory syndromes.

Stethoscope surfaces fabricated with AMCus were consistently found to harbor fewer bacteria.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients would benefit from the identification of reliable biomarkers to predict outcomes and treatment strategies. In our study, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with severe TBI was evaluated for oxidant stress-mediated damage progression after hospital admission and subsequent ventriculostomy placement. Interestingly, substantial levels of peroxiredoxin VI (Prdx6), a major antioxidant enzyme normally found in astrocytes, were detected in CSF from control and TBI patients, and were not associated with blood contamination. Functionally, Prdx6 and its associated binding partner glutathione S-transferase pi (GSTP1-1, also detected in CSF) act in tandem to detoxify lipid peroxidation damage to membranes. We found Prdx6 was fully active in CSF of control patients but becomes significantly inactivated (oxidized) under TBI. Furthermore, significant and progressive oxidation of “buried” protein thiol in CSF of TBI patients (as compared to that of non-trauma control) were detected over a 24h period following hospital admission, with increased oxidation correlating with severity of trauma. Conversely, recovery of Prdx6 activity after 24h indicated more favorable patient outcome. Not only is this the first report of an extracellular form of Prdx6 but also the first report of its detection at a substantial level in CSF. Taken together, our data suggest a meaningful correlation between TBI-initiated oxidation of Prdx6, its specific phospholipid hydroperoxide peroxidase activity, and severity of trauma outcome. Consequently, we propose that Prdx6 redox status detection has the potential to be a biomarker for TBI outcome and a future indicator of therapeutic efficacy.

Previous studies have implicated a role of heterotrimeric Gαi proteins in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -induced inflammatory responses. We hypothesized that Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling regulates Gαi proteins, which are anti-inflammatory in endotoxemia and polymicrobial sepsis. Raw 264.7 cells were stimulated with LPS and the Gαi-GTP protein complex was immunoprecipitated with a Gαi protein activation assay. In subsequent in vivo studies, the Gαi protein inhibitor pertussis toxin (PTx) or Gi protein agonist mastoparan (MP-7) were administrated prior to endotoxemia. LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and mortality were determined. To examine the role of Gαi2 in sepsis, Gαi2 (−/−) and wildtype (WT) mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and monitored every 24 hours for 120 hours. Other mice were sacrificed 24 hours after CLP. Peritoneal fluid, blood, and tissue samples were collected. Plasma pro-inflammatory cytokine production, bacterial load in peritoneal fluid, blood and lung tissue, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity in lung and liver and different immune cell populations in spleen were studied. We found that Gαi proteins are rapidly activated by LPS followed by rapid inactivation. These studies provide the first direct evidence that Gαi proteins are modulated by TLR signaling. In following studies, PTx augmented LPS-induced plasma TNFα, IL-6, whereas MP-7 suppressed LPS-induced TNFα and decreased LPS-induced mortality. In sepsis studies, the survival rate post-CLP was significantly decreased in the Gαi2 (−/−) mice compared to WT mice. CLP-induced plasma TNFα, IL-6, bacterial load in peritoneal fluid, blood and lung tissue and lung and liver MPO activity were significantly increased in Gαi2 (−/−) compared to WT mice. Gαi2 (−/−) mice also exhibited increased Th1 and Th2 responses compared to WT mice. Taken together, Gαi proteins are activated by LPS and negatively regulate endotoxemia and sepsis. Understanding the role of Gαi2 protein in regulation of the inflammatory response in sepsis may provide novel targets for treatment of sepsis.