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Blocking elevated p38 MAPK restores efferocytosis and inflammatory resolution in the elderly

De Maeyer, R; Van De Merwe, R; Louie, R; Bracken, O; Devine, O; Goldstein, D; Uddin, M; ... Gilroy, D; + view all (2020) Blocking elevated p38 MAPK restores efferocytosis and inflammatory resolution in the elderly. Nature Immunology , 21 pp. 615-625. 10.1038/s41590-020-0646-0. Green open access

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Abstract

Increasing age alters innate immune–mediated responses; however, the mechanisms underpinning these changes in humans are not fully understood. Using a human dermal model of acute inflammation, we found that, although inflammatory onset is similar between young and elderly individuals, the resolution phase was substantially impaired in elderly individuals. This arose from a reduction in T cell immunoglobulin mucin receptor-4 (TIM-4), a phosphatidylserine receptor expressed on macrophages that enables the engulfment of apoptotic bodies, so-called efferocytosis. Reduced TIM-4 in elderly individuals was caused by an elevation in macrophage p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity. Administering an orally active p38 inhibitor to elderly individuals rescued TIM-4 expression, cleared apoptotic bodies and restored a macrophage resolution phenotype. Thus, inhibiting p38 in elderly individuals rejuvenated their resolution response to be more similar to that of younger people. This is the first resolution defect identified in humans that has been successfully reversed, thereby highlighting the tractability of targeting pro-resolution biology to treat diseases driven by chronic inflammation.

Type: Article
Title: Blocking elevated p38 MAPK restores efferocytosis and inflammatory resolution in the elderly
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41590-020-0646-0
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-020-0646-0
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Acute inflammation, Innate immunity, Translational immunology
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Experimental and Translational Medicine
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10091140
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