title: Follistatin does not influence the course of Escherichia coli K1 sepsis in a mouse model.
abstract: Follistatin (FS) is the binding protein of activin A and inhibits its actions. The activin/FS system participates in the fine tuning of the immune response, and concentrations of activin A and FS are elevated in serum of patients with sepsis. Intraperitoneal injection of FS markedly reduced mortality after lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in a mouse model. Here, we investigated whether FS also influences the disease course in a mouse model of sepsis induced by intraperitoneal injection of Escherichia coli K1, a gram-negative bacterium frequently causing septic bacterial infections. Intraperitoneal injection of 10 μg/mL FS 30 min before infection did not influence survival, weight, motor performance, or bacterial titers of the infected mice. Thus, we could not confirm the protective effect of FS observed during lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in our mouse model of E. coli sepsis. Although it is a promising therapeutic tool in chronic or acute inflammatory conditions not caused by virulent pathogens, FS does not seem to increase the resistance to bacterial infections.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Catharina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dieelberg
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ribes
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Michel
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Redlich
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brück
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nau
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schütze
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004926:Escherichia coli; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D038681:Follistatin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D038681:Follistatin; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides