The existing drug shows the potential to revive immune cells in sepsis patients

The existing drug shows the potential to revive immune cells in sepsis patients

When the immune system does not function properly, individuals become more susceptible to infections caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi. Researchers at Radboud University Medical Center have shown that an existing drug can revive immune cells that are not functioning properly. These results provide leads for further research in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with sepsis.

Twenty percent of global deaths are associated with sepsis, and it is the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit. Sepsis is characterized by organ failure, such as the kidneys or lungs, caused by a dysregulated immune response to an infection. Patients with sepsis are often so sick that they end up in the intensive care unit, where about a third of them die. For a long time, doctors believed that sepsis-related mortality was due only to an overly aggressive acute immune response that damaged organs. It is now known that mortality can also result from a severely suppressed immune response, known as immune paralysis. Patients with immune paralysis cannot effectively fight their existing infection and are very susceptible to new infections, for example from fungi.

Research in healthy volunteers

This poses a challenge for researchers worldwide on how to correct the dysregulated immune response in patients with sepsis. To address this, a team of researchers from Radboudumc in Nijmegen is studying the immune response in healthy volunteers. They trigger a controlled immune response in these participants by injecting parts of dead bacteria called endotoxins. Using advanced technologies, the team, including intensive care controller Guus Leijte, was able to closely track how the immune system changes during both the acute inflammatory phase and the later phase when the immune system is paralyzed.

In the laboratory, lead author Farid Keramati examined the immune cells obtained from the participants' blood and bone marrow. He observed that certain immune cells, monocytes, did not mature properly and functioned less well after the acute immune response. The researchers thereby identified a crucial mechanism that contributed to the immune system, as these monocytes play an important role in defending the body against infections. Keramati, who worked at the Princess Máxima Center during the study, explains: "This comprehensive analysis gave us a detailed understanding of what happens during an immune response. This gave us clues about potential treatments that could revive the body's weakened defenses against infections."

Drugs activate immune cells

The researchers added an existing drug, interferon beta, to the monocytes in the lab. This medication is used to treat multiple sclerosis (MS), where the immune system does not function properly and causes inflammation in the central nervous system. Interferon beta had beneficial effects on the paralyzed monocytes. After the drug was administered, the monocytes matured and functioned better.

Follow-up research on immune countries

According to lead researcher Matthijs Kox, these results are promising, but further steps are needed. 'So far we have only examined the effect of interferon beta on cells in the laboratory. The next step is to administer this drug to healthy participants in the later phase after endotoxin administration. We would like to investigate whether this can counteract immune paralysis. ' In another possible follow-up study, researchers want to investigate whether interferon beta can improve the function of monocytes from patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit. “If this is the case, we may have a potential treatment to help these patients,” says Kox.

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