Basil Polysaccharide Reverses Development of Experimental Model of Sepsis-Induced Secondary Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia

BACKGROUND: Basil polysaccharide (BPS) represents a main active ingredient extracted from basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), which can regulate secondary bacterial pneumonia development in the process of sepsis-mediated immunosuppression. METHODS: In this study, a dual model of sepsis-induced secondary pneumonia with cecal ligation and puncture and intratracheal instillation of Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa was constructed. RESULTS: The results indicated that BPS-treated mice undergoing CLP showed resistance to secondary S. aureus pneumonia. Compared with the IgG-treated group, BPS-treated mice exhibited better survival rate along with a higher bacterial clearance rate. Additionally, BPS treatment attenuated cell apoptosis, enhanced lymphocyte and macrophage recruitment to the lung, promoted pulmonary cytokine production, and significantly enhanced CC receptor ligand 4 (CCL4). Notably, recombinant CCL4 protein could enhance the protective effect on S. aureus-induced secondary pulmonary infection of septic mice, which indicated that BPS-induced CCL4 partially mediated resistance to secondary bacterial pneumonia. In addition, BPS priming markedly promoted the phagocytosis of alveolar macrophages while killing S. aureus in vitro, which was related to the enhanced p38MAPK signal transduction pathway activation. Moreover, BPS also played a protective role in sepsis-induced secondary S. aureus pneumonia by inducing Treg cell differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these results shed novel lights on the BPS treatment mechanism in sepsis-induced secondary S. aureus pneumonia in mice.