title: A plethora of angiopoietin-2 effects during clinical sepsis.
abstract: The interesting study by Davis and colleagues in the current issue of Critical Care expands on the increasingly recognized role of angiopoietins in human sepsis but raises a number of questions, which are discussed in this commentary. The authors describe an association between elevated angiopoietin (ang)-2 levels and impaired vascular reactivity, measured by the partly nitric oxide-dependent finger hyperemic response to forearm vascular occlusion, in patients with sepsis. This suggests that the ang-1/2-Tie2 system is involved in a number of pathophysiologic, phenotypic and perhaps prognostic alterations in human sepsis, on top of the effect on pulmonary endothelial barrier function. The novel inflammatory route may be a target for future therapeutic studies in human sepsis and acute lung injury, including those with activated protein C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, Vrije Universiteit Medical Centre, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Geerten P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: van Nieuw Amerongen
authors.forename: A B Johan
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Groeneveld
mesh_terms: D055371:Acute Lung Injury / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology; D042682:Angiopoietins / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D003422:Critical Care; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D042682:Angiopoietins