Journal
BIOMEDICINES
Volume 10, Issue 2, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10020264
Keywords
acute hypoxic respiratory failure; acute kidney injury; acute respiratory distress syndrome; interleukin-18; LIGHT; sepsis; viral infections
Categories
Funding
- Cerecor
- CHOP funding: Institutional Development Funds from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study investigates the associations of cytokines LIGHT and IL-18 with ARDS, AHRF, or AKI caused by non-COVID-19 viral or bacterial sepsis. The results show increased levels of LIGHT in bacterial sepsis and sepsis from viral infections, while IL-18 levels vary greatly and are consistently associated with severity scores, mortality, and AKI.
The novel therapeutic target cytokine LIGHT (TNFSF14) was recently shown to play a major role in COVID-19-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This study aims to investigate the associations of plasma LIGHT and another potentially targetable cytokine, interleukin-18 (IL-18), with ARDS, acute hypoxic respiratory failure (AHRF), or acute kidney injury (AKI), caused by non-COVID-19 viral or bacterial sepsis. A total of 280 subjects diagnosed with sepsis, including 91 cases with sepsis triggered by viral infections, were investigated in this cohort study. Day 0 plasma LIGHT and IL-18, as well as 59 other biomarkers (cytokines, chemokines, and acute-phase reactants) were measured by sensitive bead immunoassay and associated with symptom severity. We observed significantly increased LIGHT level in both bacterial sepsis patients (p = 1.80 x 10(-5)) and patients with sepsis from viral infections (p = 1.78 x 10(-3)). In bacterial sepsis, increased LIGHT level was associated with ARDS, AKI, and higher Apache III scores, findings also supported by correlations of LIGHT with other biomarkers of organ failure. IL-18 levels were highly variable across individuals and consistently correlated with Apache III scores, mortality, and AKI in both bacterial and viral sepsis. There was no correlation between LIGHT and IL-18. For the first time, we demonstrate independent effects of LIGHT and IL-18 in septic organ failure. The association of plasma LIGHT with AHRF suggests that targeting the pathway warrants exploration, and ongoing trials may soon elucidate whether this is beneficial. Given the large variance of plasma IL-18 among septic subjects, targeting this pathway requires precise application.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available