Innovative Nanoparticles Developed to Treat Sepsis
Key Highlights :
Immunologists and bioengineers from Radboud University Medical Center and Eindhoven University of Technology have joined forces to develop and test a new nanomedicine that offers possibilities for the treatment of sepsis. This innovative nanomedicine is composed of small fat particles built from natural proteins that interact with immune cells, and it consists of a designer protein that counteracts an overreaction of the immune system while simultaneously boosting it.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the immune system becomes dysregulated due to an infection with a bacterium, fungus, or virus. This dysregulation can lead to an overly intense immune response known as hyperinflammation, which can cause tissues to be damaged and organs to fail. Simultaneously, the immune system can also become exhausted, resulting in immune paralysis and making the body vulnerable to a new infection.
In a petri dish containing immune cells, immunologists from Radboud University Medical Center discovered that the cytokine interleukin-4 impedes inflammation, while unexpectedly inducing trained immunity. This paradoxical feature may be utilized to treat sepsis, but it requires that interleukin-4 is targeted to immune cells in the human body.
Bioengineers from Eindhoven University of Technology then developed a fusion protein between interleukin-4 and a protein that naturally forms nanoparticles with lipid molecules. This nanotechnology-based approach was specifically designed to deliver interleukin-4 to immune cells, inhibiting the acute inflammatory response while simultaneously boosting the immune system.
The researchers tested their nanomedicine in both blood samples from sepsis patients and laboratory animals, and the results indicated that the nanoparticles brought the immune system back on track. The researchers stress that the therapy has not yet been tested in patients, but the method is a very innovative form of immunotherapy, offering new possibilities in the treatment of sepsis.
To bring the new technologies to the patient, the researchers have joined forces with drug developers and biotech investors to found the biotech incubator BioTrip. Through this, they hope to develop a therapeutic that can help decrease the high mortality and morbidity rates in sepsis.
This research shows the potential of nanotechnology-based approaches for the treatment of sepsis, offering new possibilities for balancing the immune system and countering the effects of an overreaction while simultaneously boosting it.
