Andréia Patrícia Gomes*, Paulo Sérgio Balbino Miguel, Débora Letícia Souza Alves, Victor H Inoue, Alcione de Paiva Oliveira, Fábio R Cerqueira, Túlio César Correia Lopes, Luiz Alberto Santana. Mauro Geller and Rodrigo Siqueira-Batista
Sepsis is one of the leading causes of death in intensive care units (ICUs) and is responsible for thousands of annual deaths worldwide. The pro-inflammatory cytokines are necessary for the control of infection and are the primary focus of this paper. Due to their central role in the pathogenesis of sepsis, more emphasis is needed on the use of cytokine as biomarkers. Implementation of the cytokines in the AutoSimmune for immune system simulations may improve understanding of aspects of the physiopathology of disease in humans. We present the principal aspects of the pathogenesis of the pro-inflammatory response in sepsis and the possibilities of their modulation in order to alter the course of this illness. We highlight the main pro-inflammatory cytokines that may be used as biomarkers in clinical practice. We also discuss the perspectives of sepsis in silico investigation, using the AutoSimmune computational system. Sepsis remains a true challenge in contemporary clinical practice, especially in terms of diagnosis, therapeutics, and prognosis. A greater understanding of inflammation in sepsis – especially in relation to cellular and molecular participation in the development of the morbid process – has the potentiality for the development of new investigative methods and outcome prediction, elements that may aid in offering good patient care.