Fatal cytokine release syndrome by an aberrant FLIP/STAT3 axis
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ABSTRACT: Inflammatory responses rapidly detect pathogen invasion and mount a regulated reaction. However, dysregulated anti-pathogen immune responses can provoke life-threatening inflammatory pathologies collectively known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), exemplified by key clinical phenotypes unearthed during the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. The underlying pathophysiology of CRS remains elusive. We found that FLIP, a protein that controls caspase-8 death pathways, was highly expressed in myeloid cells of COVID-19 lungs. FLIP controlled CRS by fueling a STAT3-dependent inflammatory program. Indeed, constitutive expression of a viral FLIP homologue in myeloid cells triggered a STAT3-linked, progressive and fatal inflammatory syndrome in mice, characterized by elevated cytokine output, lymphopenia, lung injury and multiple organ dysfunctions that mimicked human CRS. As STAT3-targeting approaches relieved inflammation, immune disorders, and organ failures in these mice, targeted intervention towards this pathway could suppress the lethal CRS inflammatory state.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE168098 | GEO | 2021/09/09
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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