Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2024 Sep 19;14(1):147.
doi: 10.1186/s13613-024-01377-0.

Organ crosstalk and dysfunction in sepsis

André Borges #  1   2 , Luís Bento #  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Organ crosstalk and dysfunction in sepsis

André Borges et al. Ann Intensive Care. .

Abstract

Sepsis is a dysregulated immune response to an infection that leads to organ dysfunction. Sepsis-associated organ dysfunction involves multiple inflammatory mechanisms and complex metabolic reprogramming of cellular function. These mechanisms cooperate through multiple organs and systems according to a complex set of long-distance communications mediated by cellular pathways, solutes, and neurohormonal actions. In sepsis, the concept of organ crosstalk involves the dysregulation of one system, which triggers compensatory mechanisms in other systems that can induce further damage. Despite the abundance of studies published on ​​organ crosstalk in the last decade, there is a need to formulate a more comprehensive framework involving all organs to create a more detailed picture of sepsis. In this paper, we review the literature published on organ crosstalk in the last 10 years and explore how these relationships affect the progression of organ failure in patients with septic shock. We explored these relationships in terms of the heart-kidney-lung, gut-microbiome-liver-brain, and adipose tissue-muscle-bone crosstalk in sepsis patients. A deep connection exists among these organs based on crosstalk. We also review how multiple therapeutic interventions administered in intensive care units, such as mechanical ventilation, antibiotics, anesthesia, nutrition, and proton pump inhibitors, affect these systems and must be carefully considered when managing septic patients. The progression to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome in sepsis patients is still one of the most frequent causes of death in critically ill patients. A better understanding and monitoring of the mechanics of organ crosstalk will enable the anticipation of organ damage and the development of individualized therapeutic strategies.

Keywords: Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS); Organ crosstalk; Organ failure; Sepsis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Inflammatory response and metabolic reprogramming in sepsis
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Heart-lung-kidney crosstalk in sepsis
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Gut-microbiome-liver-brain crosstalk in sepsis
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Witzany G. What is Life? Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. 2020;7.
    1. Armutcu F. Organ crosstalk: the potent roles of inflammation and fibrotic changes in the course of organ interactions. Inflamm Res. 2019;68:825–39. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Appiah MG, Park EJ, Akama Y, Nakamori Y, Kawamoto E, Gaowa A et al. Cellular and Exosomal regulations of Sepsis-Induced metabolic alterations. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Quaglia M, Fanelli V, Merlotti G, Costamagna A, Deregibus MC, Marengo M et al. Dual role of Extracellular vesicles in Sepsis-Associated kidney and Lung Injury. Biomedicines. 2022;10. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour CW, Shankar-Hari M, Annane D, Bauer M, et al. The Third International Consensus definitions for Sepsis and septic shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA. 2016;315:801–10. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources