# A redox-sensitive switch in the macrophage nucleus regulates acute phase inflammatory injury

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $544,709

## Abstract

SUMMARY
This application is based on the discovery that reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS)
within the nucleus of macrophages are powerful signals regulating the polarization of the early
immune response and, in particular, the activation of the acute phase of inflammation.
Specifically, we found that the promoters of a subset of pro-inflammatory NFκB-target genes,
while remaining constitutively accessible, are muted by association with SOCS1, a redox sensitive
protein that binds and depletes incoming p65 NFκB. This mechanism simultaneously prevents
inflammatory tissue injury during homeostasis as well as provides a rapid and specific pathway
to mobilizing aggressive innate immune cells to hunt and kill highly proliferative pathogenic
microbes. NOS1-derived nitric oxide (NO) displaces SOCS1 by S-nitrosylation licensing the
transcription of acute pro-inflammatory NFκB-target genes. Because H2O2 (ROS) can modify
cysteines similarly to NO, we hypothesize that oxidative stress in the nucleus mimics NO,
displacing SOCS1 from regulatory regions of pro-inflammatory genes as well as preventing its de
novo deposition thereby extending the acute phase of inflammation and preventing the transition
to inflammatory resolution and tissue healing. Clinically, this exacerbates pulmonary tissue injury
and elevates the risk of ARDS in patients with underlying oxidative stress caused by old age,
smoking, autoimmunity, or other conditions. Interestingly, we found that although suppressing
nuclear NO or ROS eliminates much of the inflammatory tissue injury in response to LPS, the
ability of mice to control K. pneumoniae infection remains intact, indicating that targeting nuclear
NO and ROS with existing compounds may be clinically useful to prevent at-risk patients from
evolving to ARDS. Currently, ARDS prevention and management is accomplished by the use of
powerful immunosuppressive drugs that compromise the ability of the patient to fight infection. In
this regard, this proposed project has the potential to advance a long sought goal in the field that
is finding ways to suppress inflammatory tissue injury and ARDS while preserving the ability of
innate immune cells to eliminate infectious agents intact.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10842299
- **Project number:** 5R01HL163820-03
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Marcelo G. Bonini
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $544,709
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10842299

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10842299, A redox-sensitive switch in the macrophage nucleus regulates acute phase inflammatory injury (5R01HL163820-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10842299. Licensed CC0.

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