Immunotherapy in sepsis - brake or accelerate?

Area of Science:

• Critical care medicine
• Immunology
• Infectious diseases

Background:

• Sepsis is a leading cause of death in hospitalized patients, characterized by organ failure post-infection.
• Current sepsis treatments are primarily supportive, lacking specific approved drugs to reduce mortality.
• Immune response dysregulation, from inflammation to immunosuppression, drives sepsis pathogenesis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current clinical investigations and preclinical approaches for sepsis immunotherapy.
• To highlight the need for personalized therapeutic strategies based on individual immune status.
• To explore the potential of biomarkers in stratifying patients for targeted interventions.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent and ongoing clinical trials on immunostimulatory and immunosuppressive therapies for sepsis.
• Inclusion of non-pharmacological and novel preclinical therapeutic strategies.
• Focus on identifying patient stratification methods using biomarkers.

Main Results:

• Evidence suggests personalized therapy is essential for effective sepsis management.
• Biomarkers are critical for identifying individual patient immune status and guiding treatment.
• Current immunomodulatory approaches require refinement for optimal clinical benefit.

Conclusions:

• New therapeutic strategies beyond supportive care are urgently needed for sepsis.
• Personalized immunotherapy, informed by biomarkers, offers a promising direction.
• Further research into tailored immune interventions is vital to reduce sepsis mortality.