Simvastatin and a Plant Galactolipid Protect Animals from Septic Shock by Regulating Oxylipin Mediator Dynamics through the MAPK-cPLA2 Signaling Pathway

Maria Karmella Apaya; Chih-Yu Lin; Ching-Yi Chiou; Chung-Chih Yang; Chen-Yun Ting; Lie-Fen Shyur

doi:10.2119/molmed.2015.00082

Simvastatin and a Plant Galactolipid Protect Animals from Septic Shock by Regulating Oxylipin Mediator Dynamics through the MAPK-cPLA₂ Signaling Pathway

Mol Med. 2016 May;21(1):988-1001. doi: 10.2119/molmed.2015.00082. Epub 2016 Mar 31.

Authors

Maria Karmella Apaya^{1

2

3}, Chih-Yu Lin², Ching-Yi Chiou², Chung-Chih Yang^{2

4}, Chen-Yun Ting², Lie-Fen Shyur^{1

2

4

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
² Agricultural Biotechnology Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
³ Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁴ Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
⁵ Biotechnology Center, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁶ Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.

Abstract

Sepsis remains a major medical issue despite decades of research. Identification of important inflammatory cascades and key molecular mediators are crucial for developing intervention and prevention strategies. In this study, we conducted a comparative oxylipin metabolomics study to gain a comprehensive picture of lipid mediator dynamics during the initial hyperinflammatory phase of sepsis, and demonstrated, in parallel, the efficacy of simvastatin and plant galactolipid, 1,2-di-O-α-linolenoyl-3-O-β-galactopyranosyl-sn-glycerol (dLGG) in the homeostatic regulation of the oxylipin metabolome using a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis C57BL/6J mouse model. LPS increased the systemic and organ levels of proinflammatory metabolites of linoleic acid including leukotoxin diols (9-,10-DHOME, 12-,13-DHOME) and octadecadienoic acids (9-HODE and 13-HODE) and arachidonic acid-derived prostanoid, PGE2, and hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (8-, 12- and 15-HETE). Treatment with either compound decreased the levels of proinflammatory metabolites and elevated proresolution lipoxin A₄, 5(6)-EET, 11(12)-EET and 15-deoxy-PGJ₂. dLGG and simvastatin ameliorated the effects of LPS-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-dependent activation of cPLA₂, cyclooxygenase-2, lipoxygenase, cytochrome P450 and/or epoxide hydrolase lowered systemic TNF-α and IL-6 levels and aminotransferase activities and decreased organ-specific infiltration of inflammatory leukocytes and macrophages, and septic shock-induced multiple organ damage. Furthermore, both dLGG and simvastatin increased the survival rates in the cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis model. This study provides new insights into the role of oxylipins in sepsis pathogenesis and highlights the potential of simvastatin and dLGG in sepsis therapy and prevention.