Purinergic P2X7 receptor expression increases in leukocytes from intra-abdominal septic patients.

Inflammation is a tightly coordinated response of the host immune system to bacterial and viral infections, triggered by the production of inflammatory cytokines. Sepsis is defined as a systemic inflammatory response followed by immunosuppression of the host and organ dysfunction. This imbalance of the immune response increases the risk of mortality of patients with sepsis, making it a major problem for critical care units worldwide. The P2X7 receptor plays a crucial role in activating the immune system by inducing the activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In this study, we analyzed a cohort of abdominal origin septic patients and found that the expression of the P2X7 receptor in the plasma membrane is elevated in the different subsets of lymphocytes. We observed a direct relationship between the percentage of P2X7-expressing lymphocytes and the early inflammatory response in sepsis. Additionally, in patients whose lymphocytes presented a higher percentage of P2X7 surface expression, the total lymphocytes populations proportionally decreased. Furthermore, we found a correlation between elevated soluble P2X7 receptors in plasma and inflammasome-dependent cytokine IL-18. In summary, our work demonstrates that P2X7 expression is highly induced in lymphocytes during sepsis, and this correlates with IL-18, along with other inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, IL-8, and procalcitonin.
Competing Interests: HM-B, CG-P, LM-A, AG-L, A-BM, PP, and JM-G are co-founders of Viva in vitro diagnostics SL. PP also serves as the scientific consultant of Viva in vitro diagnostics SL. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be constructed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2023 Martínez-Banaclocha, García-Palenciano, Martínez-Alarcón, Amores-Iniesta, Martín-Sánchez, Ercole, González-Lisorge, Fernández-Pacheco, Martínez-Gil, Padilla-Rodríguez, Baroja-Mazo, Pelegrín and Martínez-García.)