Sepsis is a life-threatening systemic inflammatory host response to microbial infection that affects in excess of 700,000 patients annually in the US alone, with current in-hospital mortality of septic patients still reaching about 25%. Current treatments are limited to control of infection with antibiotics and intensive supportive care to sustain organ function, and new therapies are urgently needed. Many candidate drugs showed promise in preclinical animal studies, but failed to improve, or even worsened outcomes in clinical studies. This has raised general concerns about a profound lack of understanding of sepsis pathology, and the inadequacy of animal studies to mimic human disease and predict clinical efficacy. This project takes a radically different approach to address these concerns and is based on the seminal observation that a naturally occurring mutation in human blood coagulation factor V (fV Leiden) protects against death from infection in humans, as well as in various mouse models of sepsis and lethal sterile inflammation. Our preliminary studies indicate that the natural survival advantage of fV Leiden carriers is mediated by the ability of endogenous activated protein C (aPC) to trigger a molecular switch in the mode of signal transduction by protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2). This switch modulates in an as yet unknown manner the immune-regulatory function of a distinct, infection-elicited population of innate immune cells to enable the resolution of inflammation and improve survival. The objective of the proposed studies is to delineate the cellular and molecular mechanisms that protect heterozygous carriers of this mutation from death by sepsis, and apply this knowledge to instruct therapeutic approaches targeting these natural survival pathways. This is accomplished in three specific aims: (1) To delineate the biological responses of infection- elicited myeloid innate immune cells that are controlled by two alternate modes of PAR2 signaling, and how these responses modify the overall outcome of infection. (2) To determine how the natural survival mechanisms operating in fV Leiden carriers can be engaged in normal mice by therapeutic administration of recombinant variants of aPC that selectively target these pathways without causing bleeding complications. (3) To determine whether the novel molecular and cellular immune mechanisms discovered in mice also are relevant to the human host response to infection. Our studies will thereby document previously unknown mechanisms by which coagulation receptor signaling shapes the innate immune response to infection. These novel pathways can explain the limited efficacy of recombinant aPC in past clinical trials, and also instruct a rationale approach for greatly improving the clinical efficacy of therapies with aPC or novel reagents with aPC-like activity.

Public Health Relevance

Sepsis caused by microbial infection affects in excess of 700,000 patients annually in the US alone, with current in-hospital mortality of septic patients still reaching about 25%. This project advances basic knowledge about naturally occurring mechanisms that prevent death from sepsis, and investigates how this knowledge may be applied to develop effective treatments of this disease.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01HL133348-01
Application #
9158877
Study Section
Hemostasis and Thrombosis Study Section (HT)
Program Officer
Klauzinska, Malgorzata
Project Start
2016-07-01
Project End
2020-04-30
Budget Start
2016-07-01
Budget End
2017-04-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2016
Total Cost
$417,500
Indirect Cost
$167,500
Name
Bloodcenter of Wisconsin, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
057163172
City
Milwaukee
State
WI
Country
United States
Zip Code
53233
van Mens, Thijs E; Liang, Hai-Po H; Basu, Sreemanti et al. (2017) Variable phenotypic penetrance of thrombosis in adult mice after tissue-selective and temporally controlled Thbd gene inactivation. Blood Adv 1:1148-1158
Lin, Cong; von der Thüsen, Jan; Isermann, Berend et al. (2016) High endogenous activated protein C levels attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. J Cell Mol Med 20:2029-2035