Upregulation of Cullin1 neddylation promotes glycolysis and M1 polarization of macrophage via NF-κB p65 pathway in sepsis

This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanism of neddylation in macrophage polarization during sepsis. A mouse model of sepsis was established by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). ELISA and Flow cytometry were performed to analyze the generation of pro-inflammatory factors and M1/M2 macrophage polarization, respectively. Western blotting was applied to detect NEDD8-mediated neddylation and glycolysis-related proteins. ECAR method was used to analyze the glycolysis level. HE staining was applied to detect the lung injury. The bacterial load in peritoneal cavity and peripheral blood was determined by counting the colony-forming units. The results showed the upregulated neddylation, M1 polarization and glycolysis of macrophage in patients with sepsis and CLP-challenged mice. NEDD8-mediated Cullin1 neddylation promoted M1 polarization and glycolysis to accelerate inflammation via NF-kappa B p65 pathway in E.coli-treated Raw264.7 cells. MLN4924 treatment alleviated sepsis by inhibiting neddylation to prevent M1 polarization in CLP-challenged mice. In summary, this study demonstrated that upregulation of NEDD8-mediated Cullin1 neddylation promotes glycolysis and M1 polarization of macrophage via NF-kappa B p65 pathway, accelerating inflammation in sepsis.