Mapping and tracking inflammatory platelets and their extracellular vesicles to improve sepsis outcomes

This research project was awarded the 2024 Birmingham BRC Collaboration Fund

Status: Ongoing

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body’s response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. Patients with sepsis are at risk of developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which significantly increases mortality. Platelets, which are crucial for stopping bleeding, also play a role in driving inflammation and blood clotting during sepsis.

Project aims

This project aims to understand the role of a specific type of platelet and their extracellular vesicles (small particles released from cells) in sepsis. These new insights could lead to new treatments that improve outcomes for patients with this serious condition.

By bringing together experts in platelet biology, patient recruitment, and bioinformatics from our Thrombo-Inflammation and Infection & Acute Care themes, we will:

• monitor the presence and characteristics of specific platelets and their extracellular vesicles in critically ill patients with sepsis from the first day of their admission to the intensive care unit
• identify potential targets for new treatments, by analysing the genetic and protein makeup of these platelets and vesicles
• study how these platelets and vesicles contribute to the recruitment and activation of white blood cells and the permeability of blood vessels, which are key factors in the development of ARDS