The Mechanism of Extracellular Vesicles Containing Mitochondrial DNA in ARDS Lung Injury Caused by Extrapulmonary Sepsis

The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) remains a common and morbid complication of critical illness. Sepsis contribute to a lot of ARDS cases, but mechanisms by which non-pulmonary insults such as extrapulmonary sepsis propagate lung injury remain unclear. Most eukaryotic cells release small anuclear membrane-bound vesicles into the extracellular environment in either physiological or pathophysiological conditions, often called extracellular vesicles (EVs) .Through their cargo containing bioactive molecules such as proteins, mRNAs, and microRNAs and their interaction with target cells, EVs are recognized as important mediators of cellular communication. Mitochondrial contents are clearly present in EVs, and mitochondrial cargo within EVs have been shown to stimulate the production of proinflammatory cytokines, further enhancing LPS-induced inflammation. Among the mitochondrial contents, mtDNA was present at higher levels in EVs.Therefore, we hypothesis, EVs containing mtDNA play an important role in the occurrence and development of ARDS caused by extrapulmonary sepsis.