New strategy against sepsis

Acetate puts white blood cells (neutrophil granulocytes) on alert through the activation of the GPR43 receptor. Some cases of bloodstream infections are mild, but many have a fatal outcome - the reasons for these differences have remained in the dark despite decades of research. Researchers from the Cluster of Excellence "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections" (CMFI), the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT) at the University of Tübingen and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) have now discovered a possible cause and on this basis developed a new experimental strategy to combat bacterial sepsis. The therapeutic approach against life-threatening sepsis does not require the use of antibiotics and instead relies on stimulating the body's immune defense by administering the active substance acetate. As a result of a local infection, bacteria can enter the bloodstream, which can lead to life-threatening sepsis (colloquially known as blood poisoning) and septic shock with organ failure. Among the most common causes of such a sepsis are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) that have developed resistance to many of the common antibiotics. The research team led by Professor Andreas Peschel and Dr Dorothee Kretschmer was able to show that the body's immune defense against staphylococci is strengthened by administering the acetic acid salt sodium acetate, enabling the body to cope better with the severe infection.