ALKBH5 and infection: Bacteria-induced inflammation and sepsis can cause neutrophil apoptosis and subsequent efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils by macrophages, which may result in decrease of neutrophil accumulation and contribute to prevention of excessive inflammation at the late stage of infection.6,24 Accompanying with the decreased numbers of peritoneal neutrophils, there was also a modest reduction in the numbers of macrophages in the peritoneal cavity of Alkbh5-deficient mice than in WT littermates 36 h after mild CLP (Fig. 2d and Supplementary Fig. 2b).