CD Laboratory for Innovative Therapy Approaches in Sepsis

Sepsis is one of the most common causes of death worldwide and represents a major economic burden due to the high treatment costs and high mortality. Research is being carried out into new diagnostic tools and innovative therapeutic approaches. The focus is on therapy through blood purification outside the body.

Sepsis and the associated multi-organ failure occur as a result of microbial infections - i.e. the penetration of bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses into the body. However, the cause of the reaction is not these germs, but a regulatory disorder in the patient's immune response: The inflammatory reaction gets out of control.

Sepsis is one of the main causes of premature mortality worldwide. Even in countries with well-developed healthcare systems, the number of people affected is rising due to increasing antibiotic resistance on the one hand and the rising number of premature babies and very elderly patients on the other.

The current therapeutic approaches for sepsis are not sufficient - as the continuing high mortality figures show. The main reason for this is the complex course of the disease: a large number of endogenous substances, so-called inflammatory mediators, are involved in the body's derailing inflammatory reaction. These interact in a multi-layered system and can be too high or too low in concentration depending on the phase of the disease.

In addition, the course of the disease is very individual and depends on many factors, including the quantity and danger of the germs causing the disease and the patient's immune status.

As a solution, this laboratory is focussing on the treatment of sepsis by purifying blood outside the body. This allows the concentration of inflammatory mediators in the blood to be flexibly regulated over time.

There is a great need for research: Which molecules are involved in sepsis and how do they interact? Which adsorbent materials can be used to remove these molecules from the blood? When are the ideal time windows for the use of blood purification systems? How can the biocompatibility of blood purification systems be guaranteed - i.e. how can it be ensured that they do not have a negative effect on patients?

In order to answer these questions, the researchers are working in particular on the development of cell culture models in which the interaction of different cell types can be analysed under flow conditions. The aim is to gain new knowledge about the mode of action of sepsis and about potential target molecules for sepsis therapy - with a focus on platelets, microvesicles and extracellular histones.

The cell culture models will also help to investigate the efficiency of other extracorporeal blood purification procedures and their biocompatibility.