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A variety of stress protein can help in the treatment of sepsis
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Septic complications in the form of blood poisoning are one of the most dangerous and frequent pathologies. So, in the United States and in many European countries, sepsis affects at least half a million patients annually. And this number is constantly growing.
The septic complication is provoked by various groups of pathogenic microorganisms that penetrate the bloodstream from the wound surface or from another source of inflammation. When bacteria get into the blood, the inflammatory process develops extremely. The main "provocateurs" are endotoxins - the remains of damaged and dead microbial cells. Toxins interact with cells of immunity, which invariably leads to a powerful inflammatory reaction leading to intoxication and even death of the patient. Antibiotics for septic complications are often powerless.
Scientists hope that some progress can be achieved with the help of albumin of heat shock 70. This protein belongs to the category of chaperones, which perform the function of preserving the configuration of the remaining protein compounds. It is known that a high-grade protein function depends on the correct spatial structure.
The heat shock protein 70 plays a key role in the development of a stress response in hyperthermia, hypoxia, burns and other injuries, infectious lesions and excessive physical overloads.
Scientists have made the assumption that this type of protein can be used to protect cellular structures and the whole organism from the effects of pathogenic microorganisms. The experiments confirmed that after administration of protein TSH 70 to the rodents, their blood after the septic complication came back to normal, and the lethality significantly decreased.
The heat shock protein interacts with the cells of immunity, so in order to see the effect of its introduction, it is necessary to set an exact target for it. Such protein can not be injected directly into the blood, as it can collapse, and not having time to do the required action. Taking this into account, the specialists came up with special polyelectrolyte encapsulated forms for albumin based on polypeptides and polysaccharides. Such capsules are easily absorbed by the cells of immunity, without exerting toxic effects. As a result, the processes that usually accompany the onset of sepsis stop.
The main task of HSP 70 is to prevent the death of neutrophils: it is these cells that under the influence of endotoxins are prone to apoptosis - a kind of cellular "suicide". Encapsulated protein TSh 70 after entering the cells slowly emerges from them, simultaneously blocking cell death. This happens much more efficiently than with the use of conventional unencapsulated protein.
Of course, the research of scientists on this did not end - there are still ahead of the clinical experiments. Probably, soon capsules with protein will be actively used to treat septic complications, as well as to solve other medical and biological problems.
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