title: Role of cytokines as a double-edged sword in sepsis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sepsis is a deadly immunological disorder and its pathophysiology is still poorly understood. We aimed to determine if specific pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for sepsis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recent publications in the MEDLINE database were searched for articles regarding the clinical significance of inflammatory cytokines in sepsis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In response to pathogen infection, pro-inflammatory cytokines [interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)] and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) increased in patients with sepsis. Importantly, a decrease in IL-6 was associated with a better prognosis and overproduction of IL-10 was found to be the main predictor of severity and fatal outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines constitute a double-edged sword in sepsis; on one hand they are critical to eliminate the infection while on the other, excessive production can cause tissue and organ damage. Increase in cytokines such as IL-6, Il-8, IL-10, IL-18 and TNF-α may have implications in diagnosis and treatment of sepsis.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Tumor Immunology, Ludong University School of Life Sciences, 186 Hongqi Middle Road, Yantai, Shandong 264025, PR China. Juhua.Zhou@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hina
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chaudhry
authors.forename: Juhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Mir Mustafa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Franklin
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: Prakash S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Nagarkatti
authors.forename: Mitzi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagarkatti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D016207:Cytokines / Q000502:physiology*; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000502:physiology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D018805:Sepsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators
keywords: Sepsis; anti-inflammatory; biomarker; cytokine; pro-inflammatory; review; signaling pathway