Are histone proteins involved in heart complications in sepsis?

The role of circulating histones in the cardiac dysfunction of sepsis

Sepsis and septic shock are the main cause of death in patients in intensive care. Patients with sepsis, a widespread infection, often die because their blood pressure and heart function drop significantly, and they can’t supply enough blood to their vital organs. Scientists have found that cells in the body that are damaged by infection release a group of proteins called histones. Normally, histones are found in the cell nucleus, the ‘command centre’ of the cell that contains all of its genetic material. Dr Guozheng Wang and his team propose that, in infection, histones that are released into the blood stream from damaged tissue can bind to other cells and destroy them. Dr Wang and colleagues have found that histones may also damage heart muscle cells. They have now been awarded a grant to study histones in detail and find out how they disrupt the heart rhythm and the heart’s pumping action. They will examine the toxic effects of histones on the hearts of healthy mice and also study whether preventing the histones from circulating in mice with sepsis ensures healthy heart function. This study will reveal more about how the heart fails in sepsis, and may lead to new treatments to prevent it.