Chemokine CXC motif
ligand 16 (CXCL16) is an important mediator that has been shown to participate in various human diseases. The role of CXCL16 in the immunopathology of
sepsis remains unidentified. In this study, we found that human patients with
sepsis had significantly higher soluble levels of serum CXCL16 than healthy volunteers on day of intensive care unit (ICU) admission. Soluble CXCL16 remained significantly up-regulated in the patients with
sepsis, which correlated with disease severity. Furthermore, nonsurvivors displayed significantly higher admission levels of soluble CXCL16 compared with survivors of septic patients. Soluble CXCL16 levels revealed significant prognostic value for 28-day mortality, and CXCL16 was shown to be an independent predictor of 28-day mortality in the patients with
sepsis. In a murine model of cecal
ligation and
puncture (CLP)-induced nonsevere
sepsis, supplementation of recombinant CXCL16
protein could increase
sepsis-induced mortality and tissue injury. Conversely, neutralizing CXCL16 by anti-CXCL16
monoclonal antibody could decrease mortality and tissue injury in CLP-induced
severe sepsis. However, CXCL16 did not affect the ability of these mice to clear bacteria in CLP. Taken together, CXCL16 could be related to
sepsis not only as a novel
biomarker of prognosis, but also as a potential target for therapeutic intervention.