Researchers reveal genetic makeup could identify treatment options for sepsis

The serious condition is responsible for approximately 11 million deaths worldwide every year

Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oxford and collaborators have revealed that genetic makeup could help determine the best treatment options for sepsis patients.

Published in Cell Genomics, findings from the study could potentially lead to the development of targeted therapies to treat the condition.

Responsible for 11 million deaths globally every year, sepsis is a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection, causing the organs to work poorly.

Depending on patients’ immune responses, which can be difficult to identify based on symptoms alone, treatment for sepsis can vary.

Built on previous studies that identified different subgroups of patients with sepsis, researchers analysed data from the UK Genomic Advances in Sepsis study, involving 1,400 sepsis patients due to community-acquired pneumonia and faecal peritonitis, to investigate the impact of genetic variants that regulate expression quantitative trait locus (eQTLs), a type of gene expression.

After finding that genetic variation in groups of patients is associated with differences in immune response during sepsis, the team identified key genetic regulators in each group, helping to describe what biological networks, cells and mechanisms are involved in each response.

In doing so, different patient responses provide additional information for developing treatments that work with the immune system, offering a personalised medicine approach to treating sepsis.

In addition, the University of Oxford is developing rapid tests that identify different subtypes of sepsis to quickly show who would benefit from targeted treatments.

Researchers plan to further investigate the immune response to find targeted treatments for each immune response or different stages of it, helping to design rapid tests, organise clinical trials and develop targeted treatments to treat sepsis more quickly.

Dr Katie Burnham, first author from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, commented: “Our study is the next step towards being able to treat sepsis based on someone’s genetics and their particular immune response, instead of their symptoms, which can vary greatly from person to person.”