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Peptide-based treatment of sepsis

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Abstract

Sepsis (blood poisoning) is a severe infectious disease with high mortality, and no effective therapy is actually known. In the case of Gram-negative bacteria, endotoxins (lipopolysaccharides) are known to be responsible for the strong inflammation reaction leading to the systemic infection. Peptides based on endotoxin-binding domains of human or animal proteins represent a promising approach in sepsis research. Although so far no medicament is available, the progress in recent years might lead to a breakthrough in this field. In this review, recent investigations are summarised, which may lead to an understanding of the mechanisms of action of peptides to suppress the inflammation reaction in vitro and in vivo (animal models) and thus may allow the development of effective anti-septic drugs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted the German ministry BMBF for financial support (K.B. 01GU0824). J.A. acknowledges the financial support from the German Science Foundation (DFG) grant AN301/5-1.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forschungszentrum Borstel, Leibniz-Zentrum für Medizin and Biowissenschaften, Parkallee 10, 23845, Borstel, Germany

    Klaus Brandenburg, Jörg Andrä & Thomas Gutsmann

  2. Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Institut für Physikalische Chemie, 06120 Halle, Germany and University of Kaiserslautern, Fachbereich Chemie, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Patrick Garidel

  3. Forschungszentrum Borstel, Biophysics, Parkallee 10, 23845, Borstel, Germany

    Klaus Brandenburg

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  1. Klaus Brandenburg
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Correspondence to Klaus Brandenburg.

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Brandenburg, K., Andrä, J., Garidel, P. et al. Peptide-based treatment of sepsis. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 90, 799–808 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-011-3185-7

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