Preclinical evidence of sphingosine kinase 1 inhibition in alleviation of intestinal epithelial injury in polymicrobial sepsis

Background Intestinal epithelial injury in septic patients predicts subsequent development of multiple organ failure, but its regulation by host factors remains unclear. Sphingosine kinase 1 is an enzyme-regulating inflammatory response. Methods Cecal ligation and puncture was used to induce sepsis in C57BL/6 mice with and without N , N -dimethylsphingosine, a SphK1 inhibitor. Symptom severity was monitored by murine sepsis severity score. The intestinal barrier function was determined using 4KDa fluorescein-dextran. Bacterial load in the bloodstream was determined by 16S rRNA gene amplification. Results and conclusions Our preliminary experimental data showed that expression of sphingosine kinase 1 in ileum was increased by sixfold in septic mice. Pharmacological blockade of sphingosine kinase 1 alleviated septic symptoms. The intestinal permeability and bacterial load in the bloodstream were also reduced in these animals. We hypothesized that inhibition of sphingosine kinase 1 may reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production, and alleviate intestinal epithelial injury during sepsis. Further mechanistic studies and clinical specimen analyses are warranted.