title: Pharmacological inhibitors of TRPV4 channels reduce cytokine production, restore endothelial function and increase survival in septic mice.
abstract: Sepsis is characterized by systemic inflammation, edema formation and hypo-perfusion leading to organ dysfunction and ultimately death. Activation of the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) channel is associated with edema formation and circulatory collapse. Here, we show that TRPV4 channels are involved in the hyper-inflammatory response and mortality associated with sepsis. Pharmacological inhibition of TRPV4 channels in mice reduced mortality in lipopolysaccharide and cecal-ligation-and-puncture models of sepsis, but not in a tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα)-induced sepsis model. These protective effects of TRPV4 channel inhibition were attributable to prevention of the sepsis-induced surge of a broad spectrum of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including TNFα, interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6, and subsequent preservation of endothelial cell function, including Ca2+signaling, integrity and endothelium-dependent vasodilation. These results suggest that TRPV4 antagonists may be of therapeutic utility in the management of sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dalsgaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
authors.forename: Swapnil K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sonkusare
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Immunobiology Program, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
authors.forename: Cory
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Teuscher
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Poynter
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.|Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9NT, UK.
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Nelson