Technologies

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response to infection that often leads to low blood pressure, organ failure, and death. Components of Gram-negative bacterial cell walls, such as endotoxin, are a potent trigger of sepsis, and high levels of endotoxin in the blood cause many of its symptoms. The nucleotide receptor P2X ₇ likely modulates the response of macrophages to endotoxins and may be an indicator of sepsis. UW-Madison researchers have developed a method of rapidly assaying P2X ₇ pore activity in white blood cells within a sample of whole blood. The white blood cells are labeled and then depolarized in an isotonic depolarizing solution. Next, the cells are mixed with a dye and a P2X ₇ agonist to activate the pore activity of P2X ₇ . Finally, the cells are mixed with a divalent cation to deactivate P2X ₇ ’s pore activity. To quantify P2X ₇ pore activity, the amount of dye taken up by the labeled cells is compared to the dye uptake in control cells without the P2X ₇ agonist. The amount of activity may help indicate prognosis and suggest a treatment plan for patients at risk for sepsis or other inflammatory disorders.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing an assay for identifying individuals with novel genetic mutations related to inflammatory disorders.