The sepsis seesaw: tilting toward immunosuppression.

Abstract

The immune response goes haywire during sepsis, a deadly condition triggered by infection. Richard S. Hotchkiss and his colleagues take the focus off of the prevailing view that the key aspect of this response is an exuberant inflammatory reaction. They assess recent human studies bolstering the notion that immunosuppression is also a major contributor to the disease. Many people with sepsis succumb to cardiac dysfunction, a process examined by Peter Ward. He showcases the factors that cause cardiomyocyte contractility to wane during the disease.