Introduction: Lymphocyte apoptosis and monocyte dysfunction play a pivotal role in sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Programmed death-1 (PD1) and its ligand programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) exert inhibitory function by regulating the balance among T cell activation, tolerance, and immunopathology. PD-1 deficiency or blockade has been shown to improve survival in murine sepsis. However, PD-L1 and PD-1 differ in their expression patterns and the role of PD-L1 in sepsis-induced immunosuppression is still unknown. Methods: Sepsis was induced in adult C57BL/6 male mice via cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). The expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 expression on peripheral T cells, B cells and monocytes were measured 24 hours after CLP or sham surgery. Additionally, the effects of anti-PD-L1 antibody on lymphocyte number, apoptosis of spleen and thymus, activities of caspase-8 and caspase-9, cytokine production, bacterial clearance, and survival were determined. Results: Expression of PD-1 on T cells, B cells and monocytes and PD-L1 on B cells and monocytes were up-regulated in septic animals compared to sham-operated controls. PD-L1 blockade significantly improved survival of CLP mice. Anti-PD-L1 antibody administration prevented sepsis-induced depletion of lymphocytes, increased tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6 production, decreased IL-10 production, and enhanced bacterial clearance. Conclusions: PD-L1 blockade exerts a protective effect on sepsis at least partly by inhibiting lymphocyte apoptosis and reversing monocyte dysfunction. Anti-PD-L1 antibody administration may be a promising therapeutic strategy for sepsis-induced immunosuppression.

Introduction: Studies on the role of programmed death-1(PD-1) and its main ligand (PD-L1) during experimental models of sepsis have shown that the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway plays a pathologic role in altering microbial clearance, the innate inflammatory response and accelerated apoptosis in sepsis. However, the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 and their role during the development of immune suppression in septic patients have not been elucidated. The present study was designed to determine whether the expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 is upregulated in septic shock patients and to explore the role of this pathway in sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Methods: Nineteen septic shock patients and 22 sex-matched and age-matched healthy controls were prospectively enrolled. Apoptosis in lymphocyte subpopulations and PD-1/PD-L1 expression on peripheral T cells, B cells and monocytes were measured using flow cytometry. Apoptosis of T cells induced by TNFα or T-cell receptor ligation in vitro and effects of anti-PD-L1 antibody administration were measured by flow cytometry. CD14⁺ monocytes of septic shock patients were purified and incubated with either lipopolysaccharide, anti-PD-L1 antibody, isotype antibody, or a combination of lipopolysaccharide and anti-PD-L1 antibody or isotype antibody. Supernatants were harvested to examine production of cytokines by ELISA. Results: Compared with healthy controls, septic shock induced a marked increase in apoptosis as detected by the annexin-V binding and active caspase-3 on CD4⁺ T cells, CD8⁺ T cells and CD19⁺ B cells. Expression of PD-1 on T cells and of PD-L1 on monocytes was dramatically upregulated in septic shock patients. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway blockade in vitro with anti-PD-L1 antibody decreased apoptosis of T cells induced by TNFα or T-cell receptor ligation. Meanwhile, this blockade potentiated the lipopolysaccharide-induced TNFα and IL-6 production and decreased IL-10 production by monocytes in vitro. Conclusions: The expression of PD-1 on T cells and PD-L1 on monocytes was upregulated in septic shock patients. The PD-1/PD-L1 pathway might play an essential role in sepsis-induced immunosuppression.

Acetate has been indicated to be elevated and to regulate inflammation in inflammatory and metabolic diseases. The inflammasome serves as a key component of immune homeostasis, and its dysregulation can lead to various inflammatory disorders. However, little is known about the effects of acetate on inflammasome activation and the underlying mechanism. Here, we demonstrate that acetate attenuates inflammasome activation via GPR43 in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Through binding to GPR43, acetate activates the G_q/11 subunit and subsequent phospholipase C-IP₃ signaling to decrease Ca²⁺ mobilization. In addition, acetate activates soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC), promotes NLRP3 inflammasome ubiquitination by PKA, and ultimately induces NLRP3 degradation through autophagy. In vivo, acetate protects mice from NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent peritonitis and LPS-induced endotoxemia. Collectively, our research demonstrates that acetate regulates the NLRP3 inflammasome via GPR43 and Ca²⁺-dependent mechanisms, which reveals the mechanism of metabolite-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome attenuation and highlights acetate as a possible therapeutic strategy for NLRP3 inflammasome-related diseases.

Inflammatory diseases such as sepsis and autoimmune colitis, characterized by an overwhelming activation of the immune system and the counteracting anti-inflammatory response, remain a major health problem in worldwide. Emerging evidence suggests that methane have a protective effect on many animal models, like ischaemia reperfusion injury and diabetes-associated diseases. Whether methane could modulating inflammatory diseases remains largely unknown. Here we show that methane-rich saline (MS) ip treatment (16 ml/kg) alleviated endotoxin shock, bacteria-induced sepsis and dextran-sulfate-sodium-induced colitis in mice via decreased production of TNF-α and IL-6. In MS-treated macrophages, LPS-induced activation of NF-κb/MAPKs was attenuated. Interestingly, MS treatment significantly elevated the levels of IL-10 both in vitro and in vivo. Neutralization of IL-10 abrogated the therapeutic effect of MS. Moreover, anti-IL10 blockade partially restored the MS-mediated attenuation of NF-κb/MAPKs phosphorylation. We further found that MS resulted in markedly enhanced phosphorylation of GSK-3β and AKT, which both mediate the release of Il-10. Additionally, inhibition of PI3K attenuated MS-mediated p-GSK-3β and IL-10 production and reversed the suppressed activation of NF-κb/ MAPKs in response to LPS. Our results reveal a novel effect and mechanisms of methane and support the potential value of MS as a therapeutic approach in innate inflammatory diseases.

Cytokine storm is a hallmark for acute systemic inflammatory disease like sepsis. Intrinsic microbiome-derived short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs) like acetate modulates immune cell function and metabolism has been well studied. However, it remains poorly investigated about the effects and the underlying mechanism of exogenous acetate in acute inflammation like sepsis. Here, we observed that serum acetate accumulates in patients undergoing abdominal gastrointestinal surgery and in septic mice. Short exposure to high-dose exogenous acetate protects mice from sepsis by inhibiting glycolysis in macrophages, both in vivo and in vitro. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha (HIF-1α) stabilization or overexpression reverses the decreased glycolysis and pro-inflammatory cytokine production in macrophages and abrogates acetate’s protective effect in septic mice. Meanwhile, we also found acetyl-CoA synthetase-2, but not GPR41 or GPR43, plays a key role in acetate’s immunosuppressive effect. Acetate transiently increases acetyl-coenzyme A production, promoting histone acetylation and decreasing acetyl-transfer to NF-κB p65. These findings suggest that short exposure to mM-level acetate inhibits macrophage immune response linked to HIF-1α-dependent glycolysis. Taken together, we demonstrate short-term exposure of exogenous acetate could regulate inflammatory responses through attenuating HIF-1α-dependent glycolysis.

Proper activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-mediated signaling and production of proinflammatory cytokines are critical for the initiation of innate immunity, while the specific mechanism maintaining inflammatory homeostasis remains mostly unknown. Here, we show that Ets2 is upregulated following LPS and VSV stimulation. Ets2 knockdown or knockout leads to increased IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-β production in macrophages. Consistently, Ets2-deficient mice show exacerbated inflammatory cytokine production and are more susceptible to CLP-induced sepsis. Mechanistically, Ets2 inhibits the LPS- and VSV-induced activation of ERK1/2, JNK, p38, and p65. Ets2 also binds to the promoter of IL-6 to inhibit transcription. Collectively, the results of the present study show the negative regulatory role of Ets2 in LPS- and VSV-induced inflammation through the suppression of MAPK/NF-κB signaling, direct binding to the IL-6 promoter and inhibition of transcription.