Subduing the Inflammatory Cytokine Storm

Raymond Kaempfer*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The inflammatory cytokine response is essential for protective immunity, yet bacterial and viral pathogens often elicit an exaggerated response (“cytokine storm”) harmful to the host that can cause multi-organ damage and lethality. Much has been published recently on the cytokine storm within the context of the coronavirus pandemic, yet bacterial sepsis, severe wound infections and toxic shock provide other prominent examples. The problem of the cytokine storm is compounded by the increasing incidence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. We created an incisive molecular tool for analyzing the role of the B7/CD28 costimulatory axis in the human inflammatory response. To attenuate the cytokine storm underlying infection pathology, yet preserve host defenses, we uniquely targeted the engagement of CD28 with its B7 co-ligands by means of short peptide mimetics of the human CD28 and B7 receptor homodimer interfaces. These peptides are not only effective tools for dissecting mechanism but also serve to attenuate the inflammatory response as a broad host-oriented therapeutic strategy against the cytokine storm. Indeed, such peptides protect mice from lethal Gram-positive bacterial superantigen-induced toxic shock even when dosed in molar amounts well below that of the superantigen and show promise in protecting humans from the severe inflammatory disease necrotizing soft tissue infections (‘flesh-eating’ bacterial sepsis) following traumatic wound injuries.

Original languageEnglish
Article number11194
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume25
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the author.

Keywords

  • B7
  • CD28
  • costimulatory receptor
  • cytokine storm
  • homodimer interface
  • immune costimulation
  • inflammatory cytokines
  • lethal toxic shock
  • mimetic peptides

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