title: Toll-like receptor-4 antagonist eritoran tetrasodium for severe sepsis.
abstract: The human innate immune system initiates inflammation in response to bacterial molecules, particularly Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin. The steps by which endotoxin exposure leads to systemic inflammation include binding to Toll-like receptor-4 that specifically recognizes endotoxin and subsequently triggers cellular and molecular inflammatory responses. Severe sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to infection that induces organ dysfunction and threatens a person's survival. Severe sepsis is frequently associated with increased blood levels of endotoxin. It is a significant medical problem that effects approximately 700,000 patients every year in the USA, resulting in 250,000 deaths. Eritoran tetrasodium is a nonpathogenic analog of bacterial endotoxin that antagonizes inflammatory signaling by the immune receptor Toll-like receptor-4. Eritoran is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with severe sepsis.
authors: Adult Critical Care Division, Baystate Medical Center, 759 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA 01199, USA. mark.tidswell@baystatehealth.org
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Tidswell
authors: Steven P
authors: SP
authors: LaRosa