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Updated: May 10, 2026

Colon Ascendens Stent Peritonitis CASP - a Standardized Model for Polymicrobial Abdominal Sepsis
Published on: December 18, 2010
The Aquaporin 3 Polymorphism (rs17553719) Is Associated with Sepsis Survival and Correlated with IL-33 Secretion
Dominik Ziehe1, Britta Marko1, Patrick Thon1
1Klinik für Anästhesiologie, Intensivmedizin und Schmerztherapie, Universitätsklinikum Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, 44892 Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
Sepsis is a common life-threatening disease caused by dysregulated immune response and metabolic acidosis which lead to organ failure. An abnormal expression of aquaporins plays an important role in organ failure. Additionally, genetic variants in aquaporins impact on the outcome in sepsis. Thus, we investigated the polymorphism (rs17553719) and expression of aquaporin-3 (AQP3) and correlated these measurements with the survival of sepsis patients. Accordingly, we collected blood samples on several days (plus clinical data) from 265 sepsis patients who stayed in different ICUs in Germany. Serum plasma, DNA, and RNA were then separated to detect the promotor genotypes of AQP3 mRNA expression of AQP3 and several cytokines. The results showed that the homozygote CC genotype exhibited a significant decrease in 30-day survival (38.9%) compared to the CT (66.15%) and TT genotypes (76.3%) (p = 0.003). Moreover, AQP3 mRNA expression was significantly higher and nearly doubled in the CC compared to the CT (p = 0.0044) and TT genotypes (p = 0.018) on the day of study inclusion. This was accompanied by an increased IL-33 concentration in the CC genotype (day 0: p = 0.0026 and day 3: p = 0.008). In summary, the C allele of the AQP3 polymorphism (rs17553719) shows an association with increased AQP3 expression and IL-33 concentration accompanied by decreased survival in patients with sepsis.
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