A research team led by Associate Professor YANG Ke from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, developed a new prognostic evaluation method for sepsis patients using a microfluidic concentration gradient chip.

Sepsis, a severe and life-threatening condition, arises from an uncontrolled immune response that leads to multi-organ dysfunction. Due to its high mortality and the limitations of current diagnostic and monitoring tools, it is urgent to develop methods for effective evaluation and sepsis management.

In this study, researchers employed a microfluidic chip to investigate the chemotactic migration behaviors of neutrophils and T lymphocytes in sepsis patients. They discovered significant differences in the migration parameters of neutrophils between sepsis patients and healthy controls. These parameters included gradient sensing time, migration distance, peak velocity, and chemotactic index.

Based on these findings, the researchers developed a comprehensive evaluation index for neutrophil migration function that was strongly correlated with established sepsis severity markers, as well as commonly used biomarkers.

The research results were published in Talanta.

The team also focused on T cell migration in sepsis patients based on the microfluidic platform. They discovered that sepsis patients had impaired T cell migration function and elevated NADH/NAD+ levels. Further experiments revealed that the elevated levels were caused by changes in the plasma microenvironment, suggesting that the changes were linked to mitochondrial dysfunction.

By using the mitochondrial-targeted drug MitoQ, the research team was able to reverse these abnormalities and restore T cell migration function, offering a potential therapeutic approach for sepsis.

Related results about this study were published in SHOCK.

These studies offer a promising new strategy for sepsis diagnosis, disease progression evaluation, and prognosis monitoring. The comprehensive index and the potential of mitochondrial-targeted therapies provide new theoretical insights and open up new possibilities for improving sepsis management and patient outcomes.

This research is supported by the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2021442).