A benzimidazole inhibitor attenuates sterile inflammation induced in a model of systemic autoinflammation in female mice

Sterile stimuli can trigger inflammatory responses, and in some cases can lead to a variety of acute or chronic diseases. In this study, we hypothesize that a benzimidazole inhibitor may be used as a therapeutic in the treatment of sterile inflammation. In vitro, this inhibitor blocks TLR signalling and inflammatory responses. The benzimidazole inhibitor does not prevent mouse macrophage activation after stimulation with 2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane (TMPD, also known as pristane), a hydrocarbon oil that mimics features of sterile inflammation when injected in vivo. However, C57BL/6J female mice treated with the benzimidazole inhibitor exhibited a significant reduction of pristane-dependent induction of splenocyte number and weight. Conversely, no significant difference was observed in males. Using mass spectrometry, we found that the urine of pristane-injected mice contained increased levels of putative markers for several inflammatory diseases, which were reduced by the benzimidazole inhibitor. To study the mechanism, we showed that pristane-injected mice had increased cell free DNA in serum, which was not impacted by inhibitor treatment. However, chemokine release (e.g. MCP-1, RANTES and TARC) was significantly reduced in inhibitor-treated mice. Thus, the benzimidazole inhibitor might be used as a new drug to block the recruitment of immune cells during sterile inflammatory diseases in humans.