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  2. VX765 alleviates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice by suppressing caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis

VX765 alleviates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice by suppressing caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis

  • Int Immunopharmacol. 2022 Jan;102:108405. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2021.108405.
Li Wang 1 Xubin Dong 2 Shuyi Feng 1 Haoran Pan 1 Xuepei Jang 1 Lifei Chen 1 Yuan Zhao 1 Weizhen Chen 1 Zhiming Huang 3
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, China.
  • 2 Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, China.
  • 3 Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325000, China. Electronic address: wyyhzhiming@163.com.
Abstract

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an autoimmune disease involving intestinal tissue. IBD activates a series of cell death pathways. Pyroptosis is recently identified as a critical cell death pathway in IBD associated with the activation of Caspase-1. VX765 is a Caspase-1 inhibitor that can be converted to VRT-043198 in vivo. This study was designed to explore the therapeutic effect of VX765 on colitis using a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model in mice. In this research, the Caspase-1 inhibitor on inflammatory, Pyroptosis, Apoptosis, macrophage activation, and intestinal barrier were investigated. We found that administration of VX765 attenuated body weight loss, colonic shortening, and colonic pathological injury in mice. Our study also revealed a therapeutic effect of VX765 on colitis in a dose-dependent manner. VX765 inhibited Pyroptosis by curbing the Caspase-1/GSDMD pathway and its downstream key inflammatory cytokines--IL-1β and IL-18. These results indicated that VX765 might have a dose-dependent therapeutic effect on DSS-induced colitis in mice.

Keywords

Caspase-1; Inflammatory bowel disease; Pyroptosis; VX765.

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