Itaconate-mediated inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase regulates cytokine production in LPS-induced inflammation

Itaconate is an immunoregulatory metabolite produced by myeloid cells and plays a key role in the regulation of the immune response. Itaconate, on the one hand, is able to suppress the activity of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), thereby making a significant contribution to the metabolic reprogramming of the cell. On the other hand, itaconate can regulate the activity of a number of transcription factors and transcription regulators, thereby affecting gene expression. In most experimental studies, itaconate has been characterized predominantly as an anti-inflammatory agent. In particular, itaconate produced by activated macrophages inhibits the production of cytokines TNF, IL-1b, IL-6, IL-10. However, some evidence suggests a pro- inflammatory role for itaconate in a number of mouse disease models. Thus, the deletion of the Acod1 gene responsible for the production of itaconate leads to the suppression of the production of TNF and IL-6 in the mouse polymicrobial sepsis model, which means that in the context of inflammation in vivo , itaconate can act as an inducer of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The mechanism of itaconate regulation of cytokine production in systemic inflammation remains unexplored. In this work, we have shown that injection of itaconate and its derivative dimethyl itaconate into mice, followed by induction of inflammation by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), leads to changes in the content of cytokines in the blood. Interestingly, the systemic production of IL-6 and IL-10 in response to itaconate is increased, contrary to the results previously obtained in cell cultures. At the same time, IFNg production, on the contrary, is suppressed. Apparently, itaconate regulates the production of cytokines in vivo by suppressing the activity of SDH. Injection of the SDH inhibitor, dimethylmalonate, followed by induction of inflammation in mice, results in similar changes in blood cytokines observed in response to itaconate: increased production of IL-6, IL-10 and suppression of IFNg production. On the contrary, the addition of succinate, a SDH substrate, leads to the opposite effect on cytokine production. Thus, it can be assumed that the observed effects of itaconate on cytokine production in the model of LPS-induced inflammation are mediated by its ability to inhibit SDH. These results help to understand the controversial role of itaconate in inflammation and shed light on a previously undescribed relationship between SDH and cytokine production in inflammation in vivo .