Inflammation breakthrough offers sepsis hope
An international team of researchers, led by scientists at the Human Health Research Institute at Maynooth University, identified a protein that is a key driver of inflammation. Blocking the protein suppresses inflammation and may be a new approach to treating inflammatory diseases.
Inflammatory diseases are difficult to treat, and sepsis, which can kill in just 12 hours, is particularly challenging for healthcare professionals. Sepsis occurs in only 3.4% of hospital cases, according to latest research from the HSE, but contributed to 25% of all hospital deaths.
Inflammation is the body’s response to infection by disease-causing micro-organisms. White blood cells, such as neutrophils, move from blood vessels into the infected tissue, where they destroy the invading micro-organism.
The research team is led by Prof Paul Moynagh, head of the Department of Biology and director of the Human Health Research Institute. Prof Moynagh, who has worked on the project for four years, says the recruitment of neutrophils into tissue needs to be controlled, as prolonged tissue infiltration of the cells will damage normal healthy tissue.
“In the case of sepsis, we see inflammation spread rapidly throughout the body, as a response to a bacterial infection in the blood, which can lead to life-threatening organ dysfunction.”
Understanding how the body promotes the migration of neutrophils into tissue may provide important clues for designing new drugs to control chronic inflammatory diseases, such as sepsis.
The team discovered an essential role for a protein called Pellino2 in how the body triggers inflammation and neutrophil movement into tissue. It is in finding ways to suppress or block this protein that chronic inflammation and sepsis can be treated.
Vulnerability to sepsis is increasing throughout the world, as more people undergo invasive procedures or take immunosuppressive drugs to treat chronic conditions. Antibiotic resistance is also increasing the risk of blood poisoning.
The research project is funded by an Investigator’s Programme Award from Science Foundation Ireland. The findings have just been published in the journal, Nature Communications.
