Inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase is associated with downregulation of the leukotriene B4 receptor 1/ Interleukin-12p35 pathway and ameliorates sepsis-induced myocardial injury

Sepsis rapidly contributed to multiorgan failure affecting most commonly of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and yet there were no effective therapies. The current study aimed at providing evidence on the cardioprotection of suppression of 5-Lipoxygenase (5-Lox) and identifying the possible mechanism in the mouse model of sepsis. The cecal ligation-perforation (CLP) model was applied to C57BL/6 wild-type (WT) and 5-Lox deficient (5-Lox−/−) mice to induce sepsis. 5-Lox expression was up-regulated in mouse myocardium and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) level was increased in serum after sepsis. Subsequently, we utilized a recombinant adenoviral expression vector (rAAV9) to overexpress Alox5 gene in adult mice. Compared to WT mice, 5-Lox overexpression accelerated CLP-induced myocardial injury and cardiac dysfunction. Oppositely, 5-Lox deficiency offered protection against myocardial injury in a mouse model of sepsis and attenuated sepsis-mediated inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis in the mouse heart. Mechanically, 5-Lox promoted LTB4 production, which in turn contributed to the activation of leukotriene B4 receptor 1 (BLT1)/interleukin-12p35 (IL-12p35) pathway and enhanced M1 macrophage polarization. However, the suppression of BLT1 by either gene mutation or antagonist U75302 significantly inhibited the adverse effect of 5-Lox in sepsis. Further study demonstrated that pharmacological inhibition of 5-Lox prevented CLP-induced septic cardiomyopathy (SCM). Our study identified 5-Lox exacerbated sepsis-associated myocardial injury through activation of LTB4 production and promoting BLT1/IL-12p35 pathway. Hence, inhibition of 5-Lox may be a potential candidate strategy for septic cardiac dysfunction treatment.