Sepsis-induced AKI (
acute kidney injury) is considered an
inflammation-related disease with high mortality. LPS-induced (
Lipopolysaccharide) TLR4-NFκB pathway activation plays an important role in
sepsis-induced AKI. Pyroptosis closely associated with
inflammation response includes
inflammasome formation, caspase1 activation and GSDMD N-terminal fragment cleavage that leads to cell membrane
rupture and cell death, which may be related to the pathogenesis of
sepsis-induced AKI. MIF (
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor), associated with
inflammation response, has been proved as a
biomarker of
sepsis, and perhaps regulate pyroptosis in
sepsis-induced AKI. In this study, we focus on investigating the mechanism of MIF promoting pyroptosis in
sepsis-induced AKI. MIF and pyroptosis-related
proteins were up-regulated in kidney tissue of mice with CLP (cecum
ligation puncture) surgery and in LPS-injured human kidney-2 (HK-2) cells. NLRP3 was down-regulated following the suppression of MIF topoisomerase activity by ISO-1 in kidney tissue of CLP mice. Knockdown of MIF alleviated NLRP3
inflammasome mediated pyroptosis in LPS-injured HK-2 cells. Meanwhile, we noted that phosphorylation of p65 was down-regulated by knockdown of MIF. Up-regulation of NLRP3 in response to LPS stimulation could be reversed by
JSH-23, an inhibitor of NFκB pathway, but MIF was not affected. In conclusion, up-regulation of MIF in
sepsis-induced AKI shows a renal damaged effect that aggravates NLRP3
inflammasome mediated cell pyroptosis through promoting phosphorylation of p65. This study demonstrated a novel mechanism of MIF regulating NLRP3
inflammasome mediated pyroptosis in
sepsis-induced AKI.