Roles of NK Cells in Sepsis

Purpose: The body's severe reaction to an infection is known as sepsis. It's a medical emergency that might put your life in jeopardy. Sepsis occurs when an existing infection sets off a chain reaction throughout your body. Sepsis is caused by infect ions that begin in the lungs, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal system. During prolonged sepsis, apoptosis and diminished immunological activities of natural killer (NK) cells contribute to patients' vulnerability to secondary/nosocomial infections and viral reactivation, resulting in worse life quality and long-term death.

Methods: The gene expression data were retrieved from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (GSE60424). Fold change and p value analysis, hierarchical clustering, and pathway analysis were performed.

Results: In this study, we identified altered genes involved in sepsis in NK cells. Ten genes corresponding 11 probe sets were differentially expressed following the sepsis. We identified a network between these genes and pathways they belong to. Pathway analysis showed that these genes are mostly associated with autoimmune response.

Conclusion: DLL1, SERPINA1, IFI44L, XCL1, CD3G, IGHM, PAX8-AS1, PACSIN1, PDE4B and SCML1 genes were found to be associated with sepsis. Almost all these genes are effective in the autoimmune response, especially during the sepsis. Therefore, it is hypothesized that downregulation or upregulation of these genes may affect immune response. And it is predicted that NK cells may be an important factor for autoimmune disease.