Antenatal Suppression of IL-1 Protects against Inflammation-Induced Fetal Injury and Improves Neonatal and Developmental Outcomes in Mice

• Published in: The Journal of immunology (1950) Vol. 198; no. 5; pp. 2047 - 2062
• Main Authors: Nadeau-Vallée, Mathieu, Chin, Peck-Yin, Belarbi, Lydia, Brien, Marie-Ève, Pundir, Sheetal, Berryer, Martin H, Beaudry-Richard, Alexandra, Madaan, Ankush, Sharkey, David J, Lupien-Meilleur, Alexis, Hou, Xin, Quiniou, Christiane, Beaulac, Alexandre, Boufaied, Ines, Boudreault, Amarilys, Carbonaro, Adriana, Doan, Ngoc-Duc, Joyal, Jean-Sebastien, Lubell, William D, Olson, David M, Robertson, Sarah A, Girard, Sylvie, Chemtob, Sylvain
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association of Immunologists 01.03.2017
• Subjects: Amniotic fluid; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Atrophy; Brain - drug effects; Brain - immunology; Colon; Disease Models, Animal; Drug development; Female; Fetal Development - drug effects; Fetuses; Gestation; Humans; Inflammation; Inflammation - drug therapy; Inflammation - immunology; Inflammation Mediators - metabolism; Interleukin 1; Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein - therapeutic use; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 8; Interleukin-1beta - antagonists & inhibitors; Interleukin-1beta - immunology; Intestine; Lipopolysaccharides; Lipopolysaccharides - immunology; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Microvasculature; Monocyte chemoattractant protein 1; Morbidity; Morphometry; Mortality; Neonates; Neurodegeneration; Peptides - therapeutic use; Placenta; Placenta - drug effects; Placenta - immunology; Plasma levels; Pregnancy - immunology; Premature birth; Premature Birth - drug therapy; Premature Birth - immunology; Rodents; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Villus
• ISSN: 0022-1767; 1550-6606; 1550-6606
• DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.1601600

Preterm birth (PTB) is commonly accompanied by in utero fetal inflammation, and existing tocolytic drugs do not target fetal inflammatory injury. Of the candidate proinflammatory mediators, IL-1 appears central and is sufficient to trigger fetal loss. Therefore, we elucidated the effects of antenatal IL-1 exposure on postnatal development and investigated two IL-1 receptor antagonists, the competitive inhibitor anakinra (Kineret) and a potent noncompetitive inhibitor 101.10, for efficacy in blocking IL-1 actions. Antenatal exposure to IL-1β induced Tnfa, Il6, Ccl2, Pghs2, and Mpges1 expression in placenta and fetal membranes, and it elevated amniotic fluid IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and PGF2α, resulting in PTB and marked neonatal mortality. Surviving neonates had increased Il1b, Il6, Il8, Il10, Pghs2, Tnfa, and Crp expression in WBCs, elevated plasma levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8, increased IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in fetal lung, intestine, and brain, and morphological abnormalities: e.g., disrupted lung alveolarization, atrophy of intestinal villus and colon-resident lymphoid follicle, and degeneration and atrophy of brain microvasculature with visual evoked potential anomalies. Late gestation treatment with 101.10 abolished these adverse outcomes, whereas Kineret exerted only modest effects and no benefit for gestation length, neonatal mortality, or placental inflammation. In a LPS-induced model of infection-associated PTB, 101.10 prevented PTB, neonatal mortality, and fetal brain inflammation. There was no substantive deviation in postnatal growth trajectory or adult body morphometry after antenatal 101.10 treatment. The results implicate IL-1 as an important driver of neonatal morbidity in PTB and identify 101.10 as a safe and effective candidate therapeutic.