1. Center for Experimental Therapeutics and Reperfusion Injury, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
2. William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London Medical School, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
3. Department of Chemistry and Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA

Correspondence to: Charles N. Serhan¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to C.N.S. (Email: cnserhan@zeus.bwh.harvard.edu).

A growing body of evidence indicates that resolution of acute inflammation is an active process^{1, 2}. Resolvins are a new family of lipid mediators enzymatically generated within resolution networks that possess unique and specific functions to orchestrate catabasis, the phase in which disease declines^{2, 3}. Resolvin D2 (RvD2) was originally identified in resolving exudates, yet its individual contribution in resolution remained to be elucidated. Here, we establish RvD2's potent stereoselective actions in reducing excessive neutrophil trafficking to inflammatory loci. RvD2 decreased leukocyte–endothelial interactions in vivo by endothelial-dependent nitric oxide production, and by direct modulation of leukocyte adhesion receptor expression. In mice with microbial sepsis initiated by caecal ligation and puncture, RvD2 sharply decreased both local and systemic bacterial burden, excessive cytokine production and neutrophil recruitment, while increasing peritoneal mononuclear cells and macrophage phagocytosis. These multi-level pro-resolving actions of RvD2 translate to increased survival from sepsis induced by caecal ligation and puncture and surgery. Together, these results identify RvD2 as a potent endogenous regulator of excessive inflammatory responses that acts via multiple cellular targets to stimulate resolution and preserve immune vigilance.

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