Downregulation of the gene expression of Cyp2c29 and Cyp3a11 by cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis is associated with interleukin-6

Sepsis is a pathological condition that affects the metabolism of administered drugs, leading to changes in the duration and intensity of their intended efficacies. Proinflammatory cytokines downregulate the expression of cytochrome P450s (P450s). The effects of P450 expression under inflammatory conditions have been studied using prophlogistic substances such as lipopolysaccharide; however, few studies have focused on clinical models of sepsis. Here, we show that cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), an approach for the study of human polymicrobial sepsis, leads to the expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) at 24 h after the CLP operation. Following CLP, IL-6−/− mice exhibited markedly lower survival than WT mice. In addition, CLP led to the significant downregulation of Cyp2c29 and Cyp3a11 gene expression in IL-1α−/−/β−/− (IL-1−/−) and TNFα−/− mice as well as in WT mice. In contrast, CLP elicited no significant effect on Cyp3a11 expression in IL-6−/− mice. Although CLP reduced the Cyp2c29 expression level in IL-6−/− mice, the expression of Cyp2c29 was lower in CLP-operated WT mice than in CLP-operated IL-6−/− mice. The reduction in the respective P450 protein levels and activities due to CLP-induced sepsis, reflected in the mRNA expression levels, was abolished by IL-6 depletion. Thus, CLP-induced sepsis downregulates P450 gene expression, particularly Cyp2c expression, and this effect is associated with IL-6 without affecting resistance to CLP-induced sepsis. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of CLP for studying the regulation of P450s and highlight IL-6 as a potential indicator of drug-metabolizing capacity under septic conditions.