HMGB1 Inhibition to Ameliorate Organ Failure and Increase Survival in Trauma

Several preclinical and clinical reports have demonstrated that levels of circulating high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) are increased early after trauma and are associated with systemic inflammation and clinical outcomes. However, the mechanisms of the interaction between HMGB1 and inflammatory mediators that lead to the development of remote organ damage after trauma remain obscure. HMGB1 and inflammatory mediators were analyzed in plasma from 54 combat casualties, collected on admission to a military hospital in Iraq, and at 8 and 24 h after admission. In total, 45 (83%) of these patients had traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls. HMGB1 plasma levels were significantly increased in the first 8 h after admission, and were found to be associated with systemic inflammatory responses, injury severity score, and presence of TBI. These data provided the rationale for designing experiments in rats subjected to blast injury and hemorrhage, to explore the effect of HMGB1 inhibition by CX-01 (2-O, 3-O desulfated heparin). Animals were cannulated, then recovered for 5–7 days before blast injury in a shock tube and volume-controlled hemorrhage. Blast injury and hemorrhage induced an early increase in HMGB1 plasma levels that coincided with severity of tissue damage and mortality. CX-01 inhibited systemic HMGB1 activity, decreased local and systemic inflammatory responses, significantly reduced tissue and organ damage, and tended to increase survival. These data suggest that CX-01 has potential as an adjuvant treatment for traumatic hemorrhage.

HMGB1 Inhibition to Ameliorate Organ Failure and Increase Survival in Trauma

Several preclinical and clinical reports have demonstrated that levels of circulating high mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) are increased early after trauma and are associated with systemic inflammation and clinical outcomes. However, the mechanisms of the interaction between HMGB1 and inflammatory mediators that lead to the development of remote organ damage after trauma remain obscure. HMGB1 and inflammatory mediators were analyzed in plasma from 54 combat casualties, collected on admission to a military hospital in Iraq, and at 8 and 24 hours after admission. Forty-five (83%) of these patients had traumatic brain injury (TBI). Nine healthy volunteers were enrolled as controls. HMGB1 plasma levels were significantly increased in the first 8 hours after admission, and were found to be associated with systemic inflammatory responses, injury severity score, and presence of TBI. These data provided the rationale for designing experiments in rats subjected to blast injury and hemorrhage, to explore the effect of HMGB1 inhibition by CX-01. Animals were cannulated, then recovered for 5-7 days before blast injury in a shock tube and volume-controlled hemorrhage. Blast injury and hemorrhage induced an early increase in HMGB1 plasma levels that coincided with severity of tissue damage and mortality. CX-01 inhibited systemic HMGB1 release, decreased local and systemic inflammatory responses, significantly reduced tissue and organ damage, and tended to increase survival. These data suggest that CX-01 has potential as an adjuvant treatment for traumatic hemorrhage.

Deficiency of AMPKα1 Exacerbates Intestinal Injury and Remote Acute Lung Injury in Mesenteric Ischemia and Reperfusion in Mice

Mesenteric ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury can ensue from a variety of vascular diseases and represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality in intensive care units. It causes an inflammatory response associated with local gut dysfunction and remote organ injury. Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a crucial regulator of metabolic homeostasis. The catalytic α1 subunit is highly expressed in the intestine and vascular system. In loss-of-function studies, we investigated the biological role of AMPKα1 in affecting the gastrointestinal barrier function. Male knock-out (KO) mice with a systemic deficiency of AMPKα1 and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to a 30 min occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery. Four hours after reperfusion, AMPKα1 KO mice exhibited exaggerated histological gut injury and impairment of intestinal permeability associated with marked tissue lipid peroxidation and a lower apical expression of the junction proteins occludin and E-cadherin when compared to WT mice. Lung injury with neutrophil sequestration was higher in AMPKα1 KO mice than WT mice and paralleled with higher plasma levels of syndecan-1, a biomarker of endothelial injury. Thus, the data demonstrate that AMPKα1 is an important requisite for epithelial and endothelial integrity and has a protective role in remote organ injury after acute ischemic events.

Indian Hedgehog release from renal epithelia drives local and remote organ fibrosis

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and ageing inhibit tissue regeneration and increase risks of organ fibrosis and cardiovascular disease. Increased numbers of leukocytes are present in the circulation and within the kidney of ageing individuals and patients with CKD where they correlate with progressive fibrosis. The involvement of activated leukocytes in progressive renal and systemic fibrosis remains incompletely understood. Here we show that renal leukocyte derived tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) promotes renal and cardiac fibrosis via downstream induction of Indian Hedgehog (IHH). We identify the Ubiquitin D expressing ‘inflammatory’ proximal tubular epithelia (iPT) population responsible for TNFα/NFκB induced IHH production. iPT cells are upregulated in the kidney in experimental murine and human renal disease and ageing. iPT derived IHH activates canonical Hedgehog signalling in Gli1+ stromal cells, inducing their activation, proliferation and fibrosis in the surrounding kidney and in remote organs including the heart. This can be inhibited by selective genetic Ihh deletion from Pax8 expressing renal epithelia, or pharmacological blockade of TNFα, NFκB or Hedgehog signalling. This data connects inflammation to progressive renal and cardiac fibrosis and identifies new targets for anti-fibrotic therapies.

A study of etiological clinical biochemical and radiological profile of patients with acute pancreatitis in rural population

Background: Pancreatitis has been recognized since antiquity. Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas with variable involvement of other tissues or remote organ systems, presenting with variable clinical and systemic manifestations, presenting with mild self-limiting disease to severe life-threatening multi-organ failure.Methods: This was a prospective study of 60 patients, who were admitted with the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (AP) during the period from December 2017 to June 2019. The data was collected from the all the patients who met the inclusion criteria, and recorded in the proforma prepared for the study.Results: Out of 60 patients 86.7% were male and 13.3% were female. The highest incidence was noted in 40-51 years age group (35%). Alcohol was the most common cause (75% patients). Abdominal pain was the most common mode of presentation (100%), and epigastric tenderness was the most common sign (100%). More than 3-fold elevation of serum amylase and lipase was seen in 26.7% and 33.3% of patients respectively. USG and CT scan was diagnostic only in 58.5% and 76.7% of patients respectively. All patients were managed conservatively. There was no mortality.Conclusions: In AP patients one should not only rely on enzyme level elevations for diagnosing AP. Patients with only a small increase in amylase and/or lipase levels or even with normal levels may also have or develop acute pancreatitis. High degree of suspicion is required; USG, CT scan and enzyme levels study are complimentary to the clinical suspicion.

Differential Regulation of Damage-Associated Molecular Pattern Release in a Mouse Model of Skeletal Muscle Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

BackgroundSkeletal muscle ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is an important clinical issue that can cause remote organ injury. Although its pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, recent studies have suggested that damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are mediators of remote organ injury in sterile inflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of DAMPs, including the nuclear proteins high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and histone H3, in the pathogenesis of skeletal muscle I/R injury in mice.MethodsHindlimb ischemia was induced in mice through bilateral ligation of inguinal regions using rubber grommets. Reperfusion was induced by cutting the rubber grommets after 2–12 h of ischemic period. Survival rates, localization of HMGB1 and histone H3 in the gastrocnemius muscle, and circulating HMGB1 and histone H3 levels were analyzed. The effect of anti-HMGB1 and anti-histone H3 antibodies on survival was analyzed in mice with I/R injury.ResultsAll mice with hindlimb ischemia survived for at least 36 h, while all mice died within 24 h if the hindlimbs were reperfused after ischemia for 4–12 h. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that HMGB1 translocated from the nucleus to the cytoplasm in the ischemic gastrocnemius muscle, while histone H3 was confined to the nucleus. Accordingly, serum HMGB1 levels were significantly elevated in mice with hindlimb I/R compared with normal mice or mice with hindlimb ischemia (P < 0.05). Serum histone H3 levels were not elevated after I/R. Treatment with anti-HMGB1 antibodies significantly improved survival of mice with hindlimb I/R injury compared with control antibodies (P < 0.05).ConclusionsHMGB1, but not histone H3, translocated to the cytoplasm during skeletal muscle ischemia, and was released into the systemic circulation after reperfusion in mice with I/R injury. Treatment with anti-HMGB1 antibodies partially improved survival.

Plasmatic Oxidative and Metabonomic Profile of Patients with Different Degrees of Biliary Acute Pancreatitis Severity

(1) Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory process of the pancreas with variable involvement of the pancreatic and peripancreatic tissues and remote organ systems. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the inflammatory biomarkers, oxidative stress (OS), and plasma metabolome of patients with different degrees of biliary AP severity to improve its prognosis. (2) Methods: Twenty-nine patients with biliary AP and 11 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. We analyzed several inflammatory biomarkers, multifactorial scores, reactive oxygen species (ROS), antioxidants defenses, and the plasma metabolome of biliary AP and healthy controls. (3) Results: Hepcidin (1.00), CRP (0.94), and SIRI (0.87) were the most accurate serological biomarkers of AP severity. OS played a pivotal role in the initial phase of AP, with significant changes in ROS and antioxidant defenses relating to AP severity. Phenylalanine (p < 0.05), threonine (p < 0.05), and lipids (p < 0.01) showed significant changes in AP severity. (4) Conclusions: The role of hepcidin and SIRI were confirmed as new prognostic biomarkers of biliary AP. OS appears to have a role in the onset and progression of the AP process. Overall, this study identified several metabolites that may predict the onset and progression of biliary AP severity, constituting the first metabonomic study in the field of biliary AP.