Research in Human Sepsis and Its Immunology

Dear Colleagues,

Sepsis is a major global health issue, with greater attributable mortality than many common cancers, and with significant social and economic costs to society. Sepsis, affecting medical and surgical patients alike, is primarily a disease of the extremes of life, with particularly high mortality in the elderly. Frequently, human sepsis is a consequence of infection with commonplace bacteria that are antibiotic-sensitive. Conventionally, sepsis is viewed as a systemic inflammatory disorder, yet the importance of acquired immune suppression in the pathophysiology of sepsis has become increasingly apparent over the last decade. Both innate and adaptive lymphocytes appear to be involved in the pathophysiology of the immune-suppressive state associated with severe sepsis in humans. In human sepsis, deranged antigen presentation and the presence of circulating myeloid suppressor cells appear to be significant factors in the associated failure of adaptive immunity. Human sepsis is associated with a comprehensive failure of adaptive immunity, but is also linked with changes in non-MHC restricted lymphocytes such as NK cells, NKT cells, and MAIT cells.

Therefore, we would like encourage the presentation to this Special Issue of recent advances in the understanding of the cellular and signaling mechanisms that underpin the profound immune-suppressive state that exists in human sepsis. Articles providing novel insight into signaling pathways governing the interaction of inflammation and immunity in human sepsis are sought. We welcome articles on the clinical relevance of immune suppression in human sepsis and relevant biomarkers of immunity and inflammation that may potentially be of use in this clinical arena. Articles relating to novel immune-modulating therapies for humans with sepsis are sought after.

Dr. Thomas Ryan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sepsis
• innate immunity
• T lymphocytes, immune adjuvant therapy, inflammation
• immune globulins
• polymorphs
• monocytes and antigen-presenting cells
• T cells
• innate lymphocytes
• immune modulation: the future
• inflammation and sepsis/the role of microRNA
• the interaction of inflammation and coagulation in sepsis
• trials of anti-inflammatory therapies
• nosocomial infection in sepsis