title: Predictive value of nuclear factor kappaB activity and plasma cytokine levels in patients with sepsis.
abstract: The relationship between fluctuating cytokine concentrations in plasma and the outcome of sepsis is complex. We postulated that early measurement of the activation of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB), a transcriptional regulatory protein involved in proinflammatory cytokine expression, may help to predict the outcome of sepsis. We determined NF-kappaB activation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 34 patients with severe sepsis (23 survivors and 11 nonsurvivors) and serial concentrations of inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, interleukin-1, and tumor necrosis factor) and various endogenous antagonists in plasma. NF-kappaB activity was significantly higher in nonsurvivors and correlated strongly with the severity of illness (APACHE II score), although neither was related to the cytokine levels. Apart from NF-kappaB activity, the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist was the only cytokine tested whose level in plasma was of value in predicting mortality by logistic regression analysis. These results underscore the prognostic value of early measurement of NF-kappaB activity in patients with severe sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Medicine, Hospital La Paz, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. francisco.arnalich@uam.es
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arnalich
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Garcia-Palomero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jiménez
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Madero
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Renart
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Vázquez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montiel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016207:Cytokines / Q000097:blood*; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000097:blood; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016328:NF-kappa B / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D018805:Sepsis / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D007375:Interleukin-1; D015850:Interleukin-6; D016328:NF-kappa B; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10