ISG12 Is a Critical Modulator of Innate Immune Responses in Animal Models of Septis.

Sepsis is still a major burden for the society with a high incidence of morbidity and mortality each year. Molecular mechanisms underlying the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) associated with sepsis are still ill defined and most therapies developed to target the acute inflammatory component of the disease are insufficent.

Recently the role of nuclear receptors (NRs) in transcriptional regulation of inflammatory processes became a major topic of interest. Nuclear receptors, such as the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptors (PPARs), have been found to exert anti-inflammatory properties by interfering with the NFkB pathway.

We are interested in the nuclear envelope protein, interferon stimulated gene 12 (ISG12), which directly interacts with NRs. ISG12 is a co-factor stimulating nuclear export of NRs, thereby reducing the anti-inflammatory potential of NRs such as PPARg or NR4A1. To examine the role of ISG12 in acute inflammation we generated ISG12 deficient mice.

We can demonstrate by reverse genetics in ISG12 deficient mice that lack of ISG12 is beneficial in experimental sepsis and endotoxemia. Furthermore we can show that several acute inflammatory parameters, such as systemic IL6 cytokine levels, are downregulated in septic ISG12^-/- animals. Consistently, similar results could be obtained in in vitro experiments in peritoneal macrophages derived from ISG12 deficient mice.

In contrast, mice deficient for the nuclear receptor NR4A1 exhibited an exacerbated innate immune response and showed a significantly higher mortality after lethal septic challenge. This dramatic phenotype could be restored in ISG12/NR4A1 double deficient mice.

We conclude from our data in vitro and in vivo that ISG12 is a novel modulator of innate immune responses regulating anti-inflammatory nuclear receptors such as NR4A1.