Pharmacologic augmentation of hypoxia-inducible factor—1α with mimosine boosts the bactericidal capacity of phagocytes

AS Zinkernagel, C Peyssonnaux… - The Journal of …, 2008 - academic.oup.com
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2008academic.oup.com
Abstract Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)—1α is activated on exposure to bacterial pathogens
and regulates the innate immune functions of phagocytes. We show here that the HIF-1α
agonist mimosine can boost the capacity of human phagocytes and whole blood to kill the
leading pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in a dose-dependent fashion and reduce the
lesion size in a murine model of S. aureus skin infection. This provides the first proof of
principle for a novel approach to the treatment of bacterial infection by pharmacologically …
Abstract
Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)—1α is activated on exposure to bacterial pathogens and regulates the innate immune functions of phagocytes. We show here that the HIF-1α agonist mimosine can boost the capacity of human phagocytes and whole blood to kill the leading pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in a dose-dependent fashion and reduce the lesion size in a murine model of S. aureus skin infection. This provides the first proof of principle for a novel approach to the treatment of bacterial infection by pharmacologically augmenting the host phagocytic cell function.
Oxford University Press