Sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock still present unmet clinical needs with a predicted increase in occurrence and a huge socioeconomic burden as a result of population aging, increases in invasive medical procedures, the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, and the increased prevalence of chronic diseases (
1). Sepsis is considered a dysregulated systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by an infection, leading to an overwhelming and sustained proinflammatory state and, if unresolved, to multiorgan dysfunction (MOD) and death (
2). Such a dysfunctional host inflammatory response is triggered by conserved structures present on microbial cell walls named pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). PAMPs are essential compounds for the microbial physiology, among which are lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from Gram-negative (G
−) bacteria, lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and peptidoglycan (PGN) from Gram-positive (G
+) bacteria, β-glucan and mannan from fungi, and single- or double-stranded nucleic acids from viruses (
3). Detection of PAMPs is accomplished by germ line-encoded, nonclonally distributed, and nonpolymorphic pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) present on immune cells. PRRs belong to different structural and functional protein receptor families (e.g., Toll-like receptors [TLR], scavenger receptors, or C-type lectins) and contribute not only to pathogen detection but also to engagement and modulation of innate and adaptive immune responses (
4).
The CD6 glycoprotein is a lymphocyte surface receptor belonging to the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily (SRCR-SF)—an ancient and highly conserved group of PRRs characterized by the presence of one or several repeats of a 90- to 110-amino-acid-long cysteine-rich globular domain (
5,
6). CD6 is expressed mainly by all T cells but also by a subset of B (B1a) and of natural killer (NK) cells and some hematopoietic cell precursors and brain cells (
5,
6). CD6 has an extracellular region composed by three tandem SRCR domains and a cytoplasmic tail suitable for signal transduction. Indeed, CD6 is physically associated with the T-cell receptor (TCR) complex (
7) and plays relevant roles in regulating some T-cell developmental and activation/differentiation processes (
8,
9). The latter is achieved mainly through interaction with its main reported ligand, namely, CD166/ALCAM (where ALCAM stands for activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule)—an adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily (
10). Aside from such an endogenous ligand, the CD6 ectodomain also interacts with certain PAMPs from G
− (LPS) and G
+ (LTA and PGN) bacteria (
11,
12). Interestingly, the dissociation constants (
Kd) of the CD6-LPS (2.69 × 10
−8 ± 0.32 × 10
−8 M), CD6-LTA (0.17 ± 0.02 μM), and CD6-PGN (1.1 ± 0.1 nM) interactions are relatively high (
11,
12) and of magnitude similar to that reported for CD14, the main macrophage receptor for those bacterial components (
13,
14). Accordingly, the prophylactic infusion of a recombinant soluble form of human CD6 (rshCD6) significantly reduces mortality and levels of proinflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1 beta [IL-1β], IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-α]) in serum in mouse models of septic shock induced by G
+ (LTA plus PGN) and G
− (LPS) bacterial endotoxins, as well as whole live G
+ (
Staphylococcus aureus) and G
− (
Acinetobacter baumannii) bacteria, independently of their MDR phenotype (
11,
12). Several mechanisms of action account for the antibacterial properties of rhsCD6, all of them related to innate immunity. So, rshCD6 interferes with the sensing of bacterial PAMPs by PRRs (e.g., TLR2 and TLR4) broadly expressed on innate immune cells and thus reduces the release of proinflammatory cytokines, as demonstrated by both
in vitro and
in vivo evidence (
11,
12). Neutralization of PAMP-mediated inflammation by rshCD6 also involves aggregation of whole bacteria and of bacterial PAMPs (
11), a very basic mechanism of innate defense interfering with bacterial infection spreading and facilitating engulfment by phagocytic cells. Finally, rshCD6 also reduces viable cell counts and intracellular ATP production following incubation with bacterial cell suspensions (
12). This inhibitory effect on bacterial growth should not be taken, however, as fully indicative of direct bactericidal properties of the rshCD6 protein. Indeed, the sepsis survival rate achieved by rshCD6 infusion upon monobacterial infection is greatly reduced in leukopenic mice, a fact that is not observed with the use of bactericidal antibiotics (
12).
In the present report, the prophylactic and therapeutic potential of rshCD6 infusion is further explored in the mouse model of septic shock most closely resembling the progression and characteristics of human sepsis: intra-abdominal polymicrobial infection induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) (
15). Time- and dose-dependent effects of single or repeated rshCD6 dosage by different routes are investigated, either alone or in combination with broad-spectrum bactericidal antibiotics. By means of adeno-associated virus 8 (AAV8)-mediated gene delivery, the conserved antimicrobial properties of mouse soluble CD6 (msCD6) and its prophylactic potential are also analyzed.