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Review
. 2013 Nov-Dec;27(6):669-84.

Role of cytokines as a double-edged sword in sepsis

Hina Chaudhry  1 , Juhua Zhou, Yin Zhong, Mir Mustafa Ali, Franklin McGuire, Prakash S Nagarkatti, Mitzi Nagarkatti
Affiliations
Review

Role of cytokines as a double-edged sword in sepsis

Hina Chaudhry et al. In Vivo. 2013 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Background: Sepsis is a deadly immunological disorder and its pathophysiology is still poorly understood. We aimed to determine if specific pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for sepsis.

Materials and methods: Recent publications in the MEDLINE database were searched for articles regarding the clinical significance of inflammatory cytokines in sepsis.

Results: In response to pathogen infection, pro-inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)] and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) increased in patients with sepsis. Importantly, a decrease in IL-6 was associated with a better prognosis and overproduction of IL-10 was found to be the main predictor of severity and fatal outcome.

Conclusion: Both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines constitute a double-edged sword in sepsis; on one hand they are critical to eliminate the infection while on the other, excessive production can cause tissue and organ damage. Increase in cytokines such as IL-6, Il-8, IL-10, IL-18 and TNF-α may have implications in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.

Keywords: Sepsis; anti-inflammatory; biomarker; cytokine; pro-inflammatory; review; signaling pathway.

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