Sepsis is caused by a dysregulated immune response to infection and is a leading cause of mortality globally. To date, no specific therapeutics are available to treat the underlying septic response. We and others have shown that recombinant human annexin A5 (Anx5) treatment inhibits pro-inflammatory cytokine production and improves survival in rodent sepsis models. During sepsis, activated platelets release microvesicles (MVs) with externalization of phosphatidylserine to which Anx5 binds with high affinity. We hypothesized that recombinant human Anx5 blocks the pro-inflammatory response induced by activated platelets and MVs in vascular endothelial cells under septic conditions via phosphatidylserine binding. Our data show that treatment with wildtype Anx5 reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines and adhesion molecules induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated platelets or MVs in endothelial cells (p < 0.01), which was not observed with Anx5 mutant deficient in phosphatidylserine binding. In addition, wildtype Anx5 treatment, but not Anx5 mutant, improved trans-endothelial electrical resistance (p < 0.05) and reduced monocyte (p < 0.001) and platelet (p < 0.001) adhesion to vascular endothelial cells in septic conditions. In conclusion, recombinant human Anx5 inhibits endothelial inflammation induced by activated platelets and MVs in septic conditions via phosphatidylserine binding, which may contribute to its anti-inflammatory effects in the treatment of sepsis.
Keywords: annexin A5; endothelial cells; endotoxemia; extracellular vesicles; inflammation; platelets; sepsis.