Carrimycin ameliorates lipopolysaccharide and cecal ligation and puncture-induced sepsis in mice

Carrimycin(CA),sanctioned by China’s National Medical Products Administration(NMPA)in 2019 for treating acute bronchitis and sinusitis,has recently been observed to exhibit multifaceted biological activities,encompassing anti-inflammatory,antiviral,and anti-tumor properties.Despite these applications,its efficacy in sepsis treatment remains unexplored.This study introduces a novel function of CA,demonstrating its capacity to mitigate sepsis induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)and cecal ligation and puncture(CLP)in mice models.Our research employed in vitro assays,real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-qPCR),and RNA-seq analysis to establish that CA significantly reduces the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines,namely tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α),interleukin 1 beta(IL-1β),and interleukin 6(IL-6),in response to LPS stimulation.Additionally,Western blotting and immunofluorescence assays revealed that CA impedes Nuclear Factor Kappa B(NF-κB)activation in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.Complementing these findings,in vivo experiments demonstrated that CA effectively alleviates LPS-and CLP-triggered organ inflammation in C57BL/6 mice.Further insights were gained through 16S sequencing,highlighting CA’s pivotal role in enhancing gut microbiota diversity and modulating metabolic pathways,particularly by augmenting the production of short-chain fatty acids in mice subjected to CLP.Notably,a comparative analysis revealed that CA’s anti-inflammatory efficacy surpasses that of equivalent doses of aspirin(ASP)and TIENAM.Collectively,these findings suggest that CA exhibits significant therapeutic potential in sepsis treatment.This discovery provides a foundational theoretical basis for the clinical application of CA in sepsis management.