Defining immunological dysfunction in sepsis: A requisite tool for precision medicine.

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Sepsis Pathophysiology
• Clinical Medicine

Background:

• Immunological dysregulation is a critical factor in sepsis development.
• Immune response stimulation and modulation are promising therapeutic strategies for sepsis.
• Identifying specific immunological alterations is key for designing effective immunomodulatory treatments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review clinical studies on sepsis and identify key features of immunological dysfunction.
• To define the immunological alterations in sepsis to guide the development of immunomodulatory therapies.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of clinical studies on sepsis in adult patients.
• Literature search using keywords related to innate and adaptive immunity.
• Identification of ten major features of immunological dysfunction (FID) in sepsis.

Main Results:

• Ten major features of immunological dysfunction were identified in sepsis.
• These features include alterations in antigen presentation, T and B lymphocytes, NK cells, and regulatory T cells.
• Other identified features include increased PD-1/PD-L1 expression, low immunoglobulins, neutrophil count abnormalities, hypercytokinemia, complement consumption, and defective neutrophil extracellular traps.

Conclusions:

• Sepsis is associated with ten major features of immunosuppression and immunological dysregulation.
• Assessing these features can facilitate precision medicine approaches for sepsis treatment using immunomodulatory drugs.