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CRITICAL CARE AND TRAUMA

Changes in the Serum Proteome of Patients with Sepsis and Septic Shock

Armin Kalenka, MD^*, Robert E. Feldmann, Jr, PhD, Kevin Otero^*, Martin H. Maurer, MD, Klaus F. Waschke, MD^*, and Fritz Fiedler, MD^*

From the *Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany; and Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Armin Kalenka, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Theodor Kutzer Ufer 1-3, 68167 Mannheim, Germany. Address e-mail to armin.kalenka{at}urz.uni-hd.de.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis is still the leading cause of death in the intensive care unit. Our goal was to elucidate potential early differences in serum between survivors (SURV) and non-survivors (NON-SURV) on day 28.

METHODS: We applied proteomic technology to serum samples of patients with sepsis and septic shock. Serum samples from 18 patients with sepsis and septic shock were obtained during the first 12 h after diagnosis of septic shock. Patients were grouped into SURV and NON-SURV on day 28.

RESULTS: Seven patients survived and 11 patients died. Using proteome analysis, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis detected more than 200 spots per gel. A differential protein expression was discovered between SURV and NON-SURV, whereby protein alterations not yet described in sepsis were revealed.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that proteomic profiling is a useful approach for detecting protein expression dynamics in septic patients, and may bring us closer to achieving a comprehensive molecular profiling compared with genetic studies alone.