Treatment with Atorvastatin Provides Additional Benefits to Imipenem in a Model of Gram-Negative Pneumonia Induced by Klebsiella pneumoniae in Mice.

The clinical pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae is a relevant cause of nosocomial infections, and resistance to current treatment with carbapenem antibiotics is becoming a significant problem. Statins are inhibitors of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) used for controlling plasma cholesterol levels. There is clinical evidence showing other effects of statins, including decrease of lung inflammation. In the current study, we show that pretreatment with atorvastatin markedly attenuated lung injury, which was correlated with a reduction in the cellular influx into the alveolar space and lungs and downmodulation of the production of proinflammatory mediators in the initial phase of infection in C57BL/6 mice with K. pneumoniae However, atorvastatin did not alter the number of bacteria in the lungs and blood of infected mice, despite decreasing local inflammatory response. Interestingly, mice that received combined treatment with atorvastatin and imipenem displayed better survival than mice treated with vehicle, atorvastatin, or imipenem alone. These findings suggest that atorvastatin could be an adjuvant in host-directed therapies for multidrug-resistant K. pneumoniae, based on its powerful pleiotropic immunomodulatory effects. Together with antimicrobial approaches, combination therapy with anti-inflammatory compounds could improve the efficiency of therapy during acute lung infections.

Platelet-activating factor modulates fat storage in the liver induced by a high-refined carbohydrate-containing diet.

Hepatic diseases are comorbidities caused by obesity and are influenced by diet composition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetics of metabolic and inflammatory liver dysfunction induced by a high-refined carbohydrate-containing (HC) diet and to determine how platelet-activating factor (PAF) modulates the liver lipid content of mice. BALB/c mice were fed a chow or HC diet for the following experimental periods: 1 and 3 days, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 weeks. Wild-type (WT) and PAF receptor-deficient (PAFR(-/-)) mice were fed the same diets for 8 weeks. Mice fed with HC diet showed higher triglycerides and cholesterol levels, fibrosis and inflammation in the liver. The number of neutrophils migrating into the liver was also increased in mice fed with HC diet. However, transaminase levels did not change. PAFR(-/-) mice fed with HC diet showed more steatosis, oxidative stress and higher transaminases levels associated with lower inflammation than WT mice. The consumption of HC diet altered the metabolic and inflammatory response in the liver and was worse in PAFR(-/-) mice. We suggest that PAF regulates liver lipid content and dyslipidemia, protecting the mice from lipotoxicity and liver damage.