BMAL1 deficiency in macrophage exacerbates sepsis-induced inflammatory
response and organ damage by regulating PGC-1α
Abstract
Introduction: Bmal1 is an important circadian rhythm gene, and its
effect on sepsis has not been entirely elucidated. The aim of this work
was to explore the regulatory role and molecular mechanism of BMAL1 in
sepsis. Methods: C57BL/6J mice and THP-1 macrophages were used to
establish sepsis models in vivo and in vitro, respectively. The
peritoneal macrophages (PMs) and liver Kupffer cells (KCs) of mice were
extracted, and the expressions of BMAL1 and PGC-1α in various
macrophages were detected by Western blotting and RT-qPCR.
Overexpression of BMAL1 in macrophages with plasmid. Knocked down the
expression of PGC-1α by short hairpin RNAs (shRNA). STL1267 is an
inhibitor of BMAL1, was used to inhibit the expression of BMAL1 in mice.
Western blotting was used to detected the expression of BMAL1 in
macrophages. ELISA was used to detected the levels of imerleukin-6
(IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in cell supernatant and mouse
serum, and HE staining was used to detected the pathological changes of
organs. In addition, we detected the mutual regulation of BMAL1 and
PGC-1α. Results: Both the sepsis models in vivo and in vitro, the
protein and mRNA expression of BMAL1 in macrophages were significantly
decreased. Overexpression of BMAL1 inhibits LPS-mediated inflammatory
response and promotes M2-type polarization of macrophages. Inhibition
the expression of BMAL1 by STL1267 further aggravated the inflammatory
reaction and multiple organ damage in septic mice. PGC-1α is the
downstream factor of BMAL1. After silencing PGC-1α, the inhibitory
effect of BMAL1 on inflammatory response of macrophages was
significantly weakened. Conclusions: BMAL1 is a key factor in inhibiting
macrophage inflammatory response and sepsis, and its molecular mechanism
closely related to the regulation of BMAL1 to PGC-1α.