Suppressive effects of methylthiouracil on polyphosphate-mediated vascular inflammatory responses

Drug repositioning is used to discover drug candidates to treat human diseases, through the application of drugs or compounds that are approved for the treatment of other diseases. This method can significantly reduce the time required and cost of discovering new drug candidates for human diseases. Previous studies have reported pro-inflammatory responses of endothelial cells to the release of polyphosphate (PolyP). In this study, we examined the anti-inflammatory responses and mechanisms of methylthiouracil (MTU), which is an antithyroid drug, and its effects on PolyP-induced septic activities in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and mice. The survival rates, septic biomarker levels, behaviour of human neutrophils and vascular permeability were determined in PolyP-activated HUVECs and mice. MTU suppressed the PolyP-mediated vascular barrier permeability, up-regulation of inflammatory biomarkers, adhesion/migration of leucocytes, and activation and/or production of nuclear factor-κB, tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6. Furthermore, MTU demonstrated protective effects on PolyP-mediated lethal death and the levels of the related septic biomarkers. Therefore, these results indicated the therapeutic potential of MTU on various systemic inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis or septic shock.