PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

UCSB biomedical scientist discovers a new method to increase survival in sepsis

The findings have the potential to translate into millions of saved lives

2013-11-26
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Julie Cohen
julie.cohen@ia.ucsb.edu
805-893-7220
University of California - Santa Barbara
UCSB biomedical scientist discovers a new method to increase survival in sepsis The findings have the potential to translate into millions of saved lives

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Sepsis, the body's response to severe infections, kills more people than breast cancer, prostate cancer and HIV/AIDS combined. On average, 30 percent of those diagnosed with sepsis die.

A new study conducted by Jamey Marth, director of UC Santa Barbara's Center for Nanomedicine and professor of the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, reports a new method to increase survival in sepsis. The results appear today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Building on earlier work in which Marth's team revealed the biological purpose of the Ashwell-Morell receptor (AMR) in the liver, the new discovery not only describes the AMR's protective mechanism, but also outlines a way to leverage it for therapeutic use. Sepsis often triggers widespread blood coagulation and thrombosis, which can lead to organ failure and death.

The researchers found that the AMR protects the host by the rapid removal of the prothrombotic components normally present in the bloodstream, including platelets and specific coagulation factors that contribute to the formation of blood clots. The study elucidates this mechanism of AMR function in mitigating the lethal effects of excessive blood coagulation and thrombosis in sepsis.

The key is neuraminidase, an enzyme that is present in many pathogenic microorganisms, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacteria used in this study, which remains one of the top five causes of death worldwide. Pathogens use neuraminidase to get into cells, but once the pathogen enters the bloodstream, the enzyme then remodels the surface of platelets and other glycoproteins in circulation. This remodeling signals the AMR to remove those platelets and coagulation factors before they have a chance to contribute to the lethal coagulopathy of sepsis.

"It's a highly conserved protective mechanism never before identified," said Marth, who is also Carbon Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Mellichamp Professor of Systems Biology at UCSB. "The host has evolved this protective mechanism over millions of years as a way to compensate for the lethal impact of the pathogen on our coagulation system."

The scientists wondered what would happen if they could pre-activate and augment AMR function in the early phases of sepsis. To answer that question, they infected mice with Streptococcus pneumoniae and then gave them a single dose of neuraminidase. "We were able to increase survival twofold," said Marth. "It's remarkable, and because we see the same mechanism active in human sepsis there is excitement by the potential of this approach to save millions of lives."

In teasing out the details of the AMR's protective mechanism, Marth and his colleagues learned that the receptor has the capability to selectively identify and remove certain blood components that could harm the host if they contributed to blood clotting in sepsis.

Although some scientists have suggested that little may be gained from research on sepsis in non-human species, the study by the Marth team discloses a mechanism of host protection that is conserved through mammalian evolution and which can be easily manipulated. The fact that this mechanism is imperceptible to studies of genomic variation and gene expression may explain why others have not discovered it earlier. "Much of biomedical research is focused on the gene. In our research, it was the study of metabolism that provided the key," explained Marth.

"Because it appears that the same protective mechanism exists in humans, investors have already contacted us about moving this forward into clinical trials," Marth said. "It's estimated that 50 to 100 million people around the world have sepsis each year, and we can now imagine a simple effective treatment consisting of a non-refrigerated enzyme mixed with saline, placed in a syringe and injected intravenously. This has the potential to translate into saved lives among those in the developed and undeveloped world."



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Nanotubes can solder themselves, markedly improving device performance

2013-11-26
Nanotubes can solder themselves, markedly improving device performance CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — University of Illinois researchers have developed a way to heal gaps in wires too small for even the world's tiniest soldering iron. Led by electrical ...

Increasing cropping frequency offers opportunity to boost food supply

2013-11-26
Increasing cropping frequency offers opportunity to boost food supply More frequent harvest could substantially boost global food production on existing agricultural lands MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (11/25/2013) —Harvesting existing cropland more frequently could substantially ...

Bad proteins branch out

2013-11-26
Bad proteins branch out Rice U. researchers find misfolded proteins are capable of forming tree-like aggregates HOUSTON – (Nov. 25, 2013) – A method by Rice University researchers to model the way proteins fold – and sometimes misfold – has revealed branching behavior that ...

CSI-type study identifies snakehead

2013-11-26
CSI-type study identifies snakehead Several Canadian biologists, including two at Simon Fraser University, are breathing a collective sigh of relief after learning that a monstrous fish found in a Burnaby, B.C. pond is not a northern snakehead. But they say ...

Sounding rocket to peek at atmosphere of Venus

2013-11-26
Sounding rocket to peek at atmosphere of Venus A week after launching a new orbiter to investigate the upper atmosphere of Mars, NASA is sending a sounding rocket to probe the atmosphere of Venus. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, ...

Study: Arctic seafloor methane releases double previous estimates

2013-11-26
Study: Arctic seafloor methane releases double previous estimates Storm activity hastens release of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere The seafloor off the coast of Northern Siberia is releasing more than twice the amount of methane as previously ...

Risk of HIV treatment failure present even in those with low viral load

2013-11-26
Risk of HIV treatment failure present even in those with low viral load Study proposes new benchmarks for clinical treatment of HIV People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) run a higher risk of virologic failure than previously thought, even ...

MR spectroscopy shows differences in brains of preterm infants

2013-11-26
MR spectroscopy shows differences in brains of preterm infants CHICAGO – Premature birth appears to trigger developmental processes in the white matter of the brain that could put children at higher risk of problems later in life, according to a study ...

New tool developed for profiling critical regulatory structures of RNA molecules

2013-11-25
New tool developed for profiling critical regulatory structures of RNA molecules A molecular technique that will help the scientific community to analyze -- on a scale previously impossible -- molecules that play a critical role in regulating gene expression has been ...

Your first hug: How the early embryo changes shape

2013-11-25
Your first hug: How the early embryo changes shape In research published today in Nature Cell Biology, scientists from the EMBL Australia research team based at Monash University's Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) have revealed new ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Printed skin to replace animal testing

Precision medicine could be possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University identify new targeted approach to protect neurons against degeneration

Western diet causes inflammation, traditional African food protects

Electrochemical method supports nitrogen circular economy

How researchers are shining a light on kidney disease

Some gut bacteria could make certain drugs less effective

PEPITEM sequence shows effects in psoriasis, comparable to steroid cream

Older teens who start vaping post-high school risk rapid progress to frequent use

Corpse flowers are threatened by spotty recordkeeping

Riding the AI wave toward rapid, precise ocean simulations

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

[Press-News.org] UCSB biomedical scientist discovers a new method to increase survival in sepsis
The findings have the potential to translate into millions of saved lives