Phosphatase Wip1 as a new therapeutic target for intestinal ischemia-reperfusion injury

Intestinal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a pathophysiology involving local tissue injury and organ dysfunction. Accumulating evidence has confirmed that the infiltration of neutrophils is of central importance in mediating intestinal I/R injury. On the other hand, adequate neutrophils in the intestine could also benefit the antibacterial translocation and tissue repair. Consequently, regulation of neutrophil immunity after intestinal I/R might be a promising therapy for controlling intestinal injury. Wip1 is a serine/threonine protein phosphatase that acts as the master regulator of tumorigenesis. However, emerging evidence highlights the importance of Wip1 in regulating neutrophil development, maturation, migration and neutrophil pro-inflammatory cytokine productions. Our recent studies showed that Wip1 negatively regulates neutrophil inflammatory responses and plays a protective role in intestinal I/R injury. In light of this discovery, we believe that Wip1 might be a new therapeutic target for treating intestinal I/R injury.