Immunotherapy for Sepsis Induced by Infections: Clinical Evidence and Potential Targets.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the maladjustment of the body's response to infection. Abnormal immune response plays an important role in the progression of sepsis, and immunomodulatory therapy is a promising therapeutic strategy for sepsis. Great efforts have been made recently to elucidate the mechanism by which immune dysfunction contributes to sepsis, and identify potential biomarkers and targets for the diagnosis and therapy of sepsis induced by emerging pathogens, especially for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)that causes COVID-19. In this review, we summarize recent progress on the understanding of immune dysregulation involved in sepsis, and highlight potential biomarkers and targets to evaluate immune status of the patients with sepsis for individualized and precise immunotherapy.

Pharmacological and clinical application of heparin progress: An essential drug for modern medicine.

Heparin is the earliest and most widely used anticoagulant and antithrombotic drug that is still used in a variety of clinical indications. Since it was discovered in 1916, after more than a century of repeated exploration, heparin has not been replaced by other drugs, but a great progress has been made in its basic research and clinical application. Besides anticoagulant and antithrombotic effects, heparin also has antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and other pharmacological activities. It is widely used clinically in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, lung diseases, kidney diseases, cancer, etc., as the first anticoagulant medicine in COVID-19 exerts anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects. At the same time, however, it also leads to a lot of adverse reactions, such as bleeding, thrombocytopenia, elevated transaminase, allergic reactions, and others. This article comprehensively reviews the modern research progress of heparin compounds; discusses the structure, preparation, and adverse reactions of heparin; emphasizes the pharmacological activity and clinical application of heparin; reveals the possible mechanism of the therapeutic effect of heparin in related clinical applications; provides evidence support for the clinical application of heparin; and hints on the significance of exploring the wider application fields of heparin.