A computational analysis of dynamic, multi-organ inflammatory crosstalk induced by endotoxin in mice

by Ruben Zamora, Sebastian Korff, Qi Mi, Derek Barclay, Lukas Schimunek, Riccardo Zucca, Xerxes D. Arsiwalla, Richard L. Simmons, Paul Verschure, Timothy R. Billiar, Yoram Vodovotz Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces an acute inflammatory response across multiple organs, primarily via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). We sought to define novel aspects of the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of LPS-induced inflammation using computational modeling, with a special focus on th e timing of pathological systemic spillover. An analysis of principal drivers of LPS-induced inflammation in the heart, gut, lung, liver, spleen, and kidney to assess organ-specific dynamics, as well as in the plasma (as an assessment of systemic spillover), was carried out using data on 20 protein- level inflammatory mediators measured over 0-48h in both C57BL/6 and TLR4-null mice. Using a suite of computational techniques, including a time-interval variant of Principal Component Analysis, we confirm key roles for cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-17A, define a tempora l hierarchy of organ-localized inflammation, and infer the point at which organ-localized inflammation spills over systemically. Thus, by employing a systems biology approach, we obtain a novel perspective on the time- and organ-specific components in the propagation of acute systemic inflammation.
Source: PLoS Computational Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Source Type: research