The research progress on the role of NETs in sepsis-induced coagulopathy

Abstract

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the dysregulated host response to infection, and is one of the main causes of death in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Coagulation dysfunction runs through the pathophysiological progress of sepsis whose severity should be closely related to the prognosis of sepsis. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) is a three-dimensional network structure with DNA as the skeleton and inlaid with various protein components. The excessive production of NETs can lead to sepsis-induced coagulopathy (SIC) by activating the coagulation system, inhibiting the anticoagulation system, resisting fibrinolysis, damaging vascular endothelial cells and the interaction of platelets. At present, the treatment of SIC is mainly symptomatic treatment, and there is no recognized effective anticoagulation strategy. Interventions for NETs and their components, and drugs for antiplatelets are expected to become new directions for disease treatment.