HMGB1 and Sepsis: Ethyl pyruvate (EP), a stable aliphatic ester used as a nontoxic food additive as well as an experimental anti-inflammatory agent, was found to specifically inhibit LPS-induced HMGB1 secretion, to decrease circulating HMGB1 levels and to inhibit p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) activation, ultimately resulting in improved survival in a murine sepsis model [12,13].