Sepsis-induced inhibition of neutrophil chemotaxis is mediated by activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ

Abstract

AbstractNeutrophils (polymorphonuclear leukocytes [PMNs]) are critical to the immune response, including clearance of infectious pathogens. Sepsis is associated with impaired PMN function, including chemotaxis. PMNs express peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ), a ligand-activated nuclear transcription factor involved in immune and inflammatory regulation. The role of PPAR-γ in PMN responses, however, is not well characterized. We report that freshly isolated human PMNs constitutively express PPAR-γ, which is up-regulated by the sepsis-induced cytokines TNF-α and IL-4. PMN chemotactic responses to formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) and IL-8 were dose-dependently inhibited by treatment with the PPAR-γ ligands troglitazone and 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) and by transfection of PMN-like HL-60 cells with a constitutively active PPAR-γ construct. Inhibition of chemotaxis by PPAR-γ ligands correlated with decreases in extracellular signal-regulated kinase-1 and -2 activation, actin polymerization, and adherence to a fibrinogen substrate. Furthermore, PMN expression of PPAR-γ was increased in sepsis patients and mice with either of 2 models of sepsis. Finally, treatment with the PPAR-γ antagonist GW9662 significantly reversed the inhibition of PMN chemotaxis and increased peritoneal PMN recruitment in murine sepsis. This study indicates that PPAR-γ activation is involved in PMN chemotactic responses in vitro and may play a role in the migration of these cells in vivo.