Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42078926›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in pharmacology2026

NLRX1 alleviates sepsis-induced acute lung injury by activating mitophagy and suppressing NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Zilong Hu, Jing Ding, Meng Huo, Yuqing Lu, Rui Wang, Liyuan Zhang, Dawei Li

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in pharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Zilong HuDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Jing DingDepartment of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Meng Huo *Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Yuqing Lu *Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Rui Wang *Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Liyuan Zhang *Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Dawei LiDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, The Sixth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening condition with limited therapeutic options. The mitochondrial protein NOD-like receptor X1 (NLRX1) has emerged as a potential immunometabolic modulator, but its functional role and mechanism in septic ALI remain poorly defined. Methods: Bioinformatic analysis was performed on the GSE4607 sepsis dataset. A murine model of sepsis-induced ALI was established using cecal ligation and puncture (CLP), with NLRX1 overexpression achieved through adeno-associated virus serotype 9 (AAV9)-mediated gene delivery. Histopathological evaluation, TUNEL staining, and transmission electron microscopy, ELISA were employed to assess lung injury. Mouse lung epithelial cells (MLE-12) were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), combined with NLRX1 overexpression and Mdivi-1-mediated mitophagy inhibition to explore the key mechanism by which NLRX1 improves ALI. Results: NLRX1 was significantly downregulated in septic patients and mouse lungs, correlating with mitochondrial damage and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation. NLRX1 overexpression in CLP mice attenuated pulmonary injury, edema, inflammation, and systemic cytokine release by enhancing mitophagy and suppressing apoptosis. Mechanistically, NLRX1 directly interacted with LC3B to promote mitophagy, thereby preserving mitochondrial membrane potential, reducing superoxide production and mtDNA release, and maintaining ATP levels. By improving mitochondrial homeostasis, NLRX1 overexpression indirectly suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation and pyroptosis. Crucially, the mitochondrial fission and mitophagy inhibitor Mdivi-1 abolished all beneficial effects of NLRX1, underscoring the essential role of comprehensive mitochondrial quality control. Conclusion: Our findings identify NLRX1 as a critical protective regulator of mitochondrial integrity that alleviates septic ALI by orchestrating mitophagy and mitochondrial quality control to restrain NLRP3-driven inflammation, presenting a promising therapeutic target.

Indexed as

acute lung injurymitochondrial autophagyNLRP3NLRX1sepsis

Identifiers

PMID42078926
PMCPMC13132835

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.