Cellular Reprogramming during Sepsis and Potential Therapeutic Targets

Dear Colleagues, 

Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome of organ dysfunction that is caused by an abnormal host response to infection. Despite advancement in critical care medicine and empirical antimicrobial therapy, it is expected that sepsis will remain a healthcare problem (recognized by the World Health Assembly and WHO as a global health priority in 2017). To date, no specific treatment for sepsis has been approved. For years, the pathogenesis of sepsis was focused on an abnormal inflammatory response to infection; albeit numerous clinical trials targeting features of inflammation have been ineffective. Those unsuccessful trials were ascribed, at least in part, to the inadequate selection of therapeutic targets. It has become evident that the initial “hyperinflammation” model does not capture the complexity of sepsis pathogenesis. Current knowledge on the host response during sepsis centres on concurrent features of inflammation, including the activation of the complement system, coagulation system and neutrophil reactions, concomitant with immune-suppression, which is mainly caused by the functional reprogramming of antigen-presenting cells, and either apoptosis or exhaustion of lymphocytes. While it may be argued that those changes may reflect a fundamental reorganization of cellular metabolism and epigenetic state, it remains difficult to create an overarching framework of the key “drivers” in sepsis pathobiology versus secondary changes that are less decisive to patient outcome. Improving our understanding of cellular reprogramming during sepsis is critical for the development of precise therapeutics and patient management. Therefore, this Special Issue is dedicated to improvements in our understanding of how cells are functionally reprogrammed during sepsis, and the potential therapeutic implications.

Dr. Brendon Scicluna
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. Cells is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.