AUTHOR=Martínez-Banaclocha Helios , García-Palenciano Carlos , Martínez-Alarcón Laura , Amores-Iniesta Joaquín , Martín-Sánchez Fátima , Ercole Giovanni A. , González-Lisorge Ada , Fernández-Pacheco José , Martínez-Gil Piedad , Padilla-Rodríguez Julio , Baroja-Mazo Alberto , Pelegrín Pablo , Martínez-García Juan José TITLE=Purinergic P2X7 receptor expression increases in leukocytes from intra-abdominal septic patients JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=14 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1297249 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1297249 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Inflammation is a tightly coordinated response of the host immune system to bacterial and viral infections, triggered by the production of inflammatory cytokines. Sepsis is defined as a systemic inflammatory response followed by immunosuppression of the host and organ dysfunction. This imbalance of the immune response increases the risk of mortality of patients with sepsis, making it a major problem for critical care units worldwide. The P2X7 receptor plays a crucial role in activating the immune system by inducing the activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In this study, we analyzed a cohort of abdominal origin septic patients and found that the expression of the P2X7 receptor in the plasma membrane is elevated in the different subsets of lymphocytes. We observed a direct relationship between the percentage of P2X7-expressing lymphocytes and the early inflammatory response in sepsis. Additionally, in patients whose lymphocytes presented a higher percentage of P2X7 surface expression, the total lymphocytes populations proportionally decreased. Furthermore, we found a correlation between elevated soluble P2X7 receptors in plasma and inflammasome-dependent cytokine IL-18. In summary, our work demonstrates that P2X7 expression is highly induced in lymphocytes during sepsis, and this correlates with IL-18, along with other inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin.