Saturday, November 23, 2024
11/23/2024
Sepsis remains a major cause of death worldwide (11 million sepsis-related deaths were reported in 2017), and that costs associated with treating septic patients place a large burden on the healthcare industry. Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Early stages of sepsis are marked by hyperinflammation driven by proinflammatory cytokines (i.e., IL-1β, IL-6, IFNγ, and TNF). Patients who survive the acute phase of sepsis display long-term impairments in immune function. This state of chronic immunoparalysis renders sepsis survivors increasingly susceptible to secondary infections. Consequently, there is a desperate need to better understand the cellular and molecular basis of acute sepsis pathophysiology and subsequent immune reprogramming that defines the prolonged immune suppression. CD4 T cells, essential for coordinating the cellular and humoral immune response to a range of pathogens under normal circumstances, are severely depleted during the acute stage of sepsis. The overall number of CD4 T cells gradually recover over time, but their functional capacity remains blunted for many months. For the past 10 years, we have focused our research to pursue the long-term goal of understanding how sepsis impacts the CD4 T cell compartment because of the key role played by CD4 T cells in the overall fitness of the immune system. We will continue our investigation of the cellular and molecular reprogramming of CD4 T cells during sepsis in three interconnected areas of future research: 1) Define the mechanism(s) by which regulatory CD4 T (Treg) cells expand during sepsis; 2) Perform an integrated discovery approach using genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to elucidate the molecular basis of sepsis pathophysiology and CD4 T cell immunoparalysis; and 3) Determine how intestinal microbiota dysfunction during sepsis affects the magnitude of the cytokine storm and promotes CD4 T cell immunoparalysis and increased incidence of late-onset mortality. We will interrogate samples obtained from multiple cohorts of sepsis patients, as well as from preclinical mouse models of sepsis at the level of Ag-specific CD4 T cell populations. Our preclinical studies will be further strengthened by using a novel mouse model that mimics a critical aspect of human biology – exposure to multiple ongoing and resolved infections trains the immune system for robust responses to new pathogens – and will serve as an important and novel ‘transitional translational’ preclinical bridge between humans and SPF laboratory mice to mechanistically study CD4 T cell dysfunction and reprogramming during sepsis. Addressing these key gaps in knowledge regarding the effect of sepsis on CD4 T cell biology will likely reveal new points of intervention that can be exploited in the future to restore CD4 T cell-mediated immunity, and overall immune fitness, following sepsis.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
