We have reported a pivotal role for Nuclear Factors of Activated T cells (NFATc3) in regulating macrophage phenotype during sepsis induced ALI and subsequent studies demonstrate that NFATc3 transcriptionally regulates macrophage CCR2 and TNFα gene expression.
Therefore, therapeutically targeting CCR2+ inflammatory monocytes at the time of sepsis may provide a novel neuroprotective clinical intervention to prevent the development of persistent cognitive impairments.
By contrast, CCR2 is expressed in neutrophils after sepsis induction and contributes to their recruitment to organs far from the infection site, which contributes to organ damage.