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Updated: Jun 7, 2026
A Data-Driven Approach to Quantifying Immune States in Sepsis
Published on: February 7, 2025
[Alterations of peripheral blood T cell subsets in patients with sepsis and the clinical implications]
Zhi-tao Li1, Yu-qiang Gong, Sheng-biao Wang
1Emergency Intensive Care Unit, Second Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou 325000, China.
Insights
Sepsis patients exhibit immune imbalance, with lower CD3+ and CD4+ T cells. These T cell counts and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio can indicate sepsis severity and predict patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Critical Care Medicine
- Flow Cytometry
Context:
- Sepsis is a life-threatening condition characterized by a dysregulated host response to infection.
- Understanding immune system dynamics in sepsis is crucial for prognosis and treatment.
- Peripheral blood T lymphocyte subsets play a key role in immune response.
Purpose:
- To investigate dynamic changes in CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes in sepsis patients.
- To evaluate the clinical significance of these T lymphocyte changes.
- To correlate T lymphocyte levels with patient condition improvement.
Summary:
- Sepsis patients showed significantly lower CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratios compared to healthy controls on day 1.
- Patients with clinical improvement had higher T lymphocyte counts and ratios than those without improvement.
- Improved patients' T cell levels normalized by day 14, while non-improved patients showed no significant changes.
Impact:
- Reveals immune imbalance in sepsis, characterized by reduced CD3+ and CD4+ T cells and altered CD4+/CD8+ ratio.
- Suggests CD3+, CD4+ T lymphocytes, and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio as potential biomarkers for assessing sepsis severity.
- Highlights the prognostic value of T lymphocyte monitoring in sepsis management.
Objective:
To observe the dynamic changes of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with sepsis and discuss the clinical significance.
Methods:
Sixty-four patients admitted in the Emergency Center and Emergency Intensive Care Unit of the Second Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between August, 2007 and July, 2009 were enrolled in this study. CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry on days 1, 7 and 14 after admission, and the results were compared between the patients with improvement of the condition and those without improvement, with 20 healthy subjects as the control group.
Results:
On day 1 after admission, CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio were obviously lower in the 2 groups of patients with sepsis than in the control group (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found in CD8+ T lymphocytes. The sepsis patients with clinical improvement showed significant higher CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocyte percentages and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio than those without improvement on day 1. In the patients with clinical improvement, CD3+ and CD4+T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio increased gradually with time and till day 14, they were comparable with the control levels; in the patients without improvement, CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio showed no obvious alterations in the course of observation.
Conclusion:
Immune imbalance occurs in patients with sepsis represented by lowered CD3+ and CD4+T lymphocyte percentages and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio in relation to the severity of the condition. CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio can be used as the indicators for assessing the severity of sepsis.
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