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The dark side of C5a in sepsis

Ward PA2004Nature reviews. ImmunologyReview
10.1038/nri1269PubMed
CardiovascularImmune/Innate
Lyme & Co-Infections

Abstract

Sepsis is a major clinical problem for which therapeutic interventions have been largely unsuccessful, in spite of promising strategies that were successful in animals, especially rodents. There is new evidence that sepsis causes excessive activation of the complement system and that this induces paralysis of innate immune functions in phagocytic cells due to effects of the powerful complement-activation product, C5a. This review describes our present understanding of how and why sepsis is a life-threatening condition and how it might be more effectively treated.

Key Biomarkers

C5aMMP9

Symptom Clusters

Complement system activationPhagocytic cell dysfunctionSepsis

Cited By (9)

  • The role of complement in danger sensing and transmissionImmunologic Research · 2006
  • Harmful molecular mechanisms in sepsisNature reviews. Immunology · 2008
  • Complement amplification revisitedMolecular Immunology · 2006
  • The role of complement, C5a and its receptors in sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction syndromeJournal of Investigative Surgery · 2006
  • THE PRIMING EFFECT OF C5A ON MONOCYTES IS PREDOMINANTLY MEDIATED BY THE P38 MAPK PATHWAYShock · 2007
  • Complement-related molecular events in sepsis leading to heart failureMolecular Immunology · 2007
  • Hypothesis: combined inhibition of complement and CD14 as treatment regimen to attenuate the inflammatory responseAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2008

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  • References (3)

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    • Protective effects of IL-6 blockade in sepsis are linked to reduced C5a receptor expressionThe Journal of Immunology · 2003