A team of University of Saskatchewan researchers have identified a pathway to help the human body defend itself against sepsis – a life-threatening condition caused by the body’s inappropriate response to an infection.

Sepsis is the No.1 cause of death in the intensive care unit of hospitals worldwide. Dr. Scott Widenmaier (PhD), an associate professor in the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology in USask’s College of Medicine says, “Sepsis is the largest cause of death in the intensive care unit globally.”

He and his team have zeroed in on a specific protein that might be key to helping the body fight back against the potentially life-threatening condition. Sepsis is caused by the body’s immune system response to infection causing damage to the body itself.

By manipulating this protein, researchers believe there is a new avenue to protect patients against sepsis. Widenmaier and his team have had their research recently published in Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology.