Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Sepsis is a clinical syndrome in which there is an amplified and dysregulated systemic inflammatory response in the host. Multi-organ failure is a hallmark of severe sepsis. Impaired heart function is a frequent complication observed in severe sepsis. The presence of heart dysfunction is linked with significantly higher death rate in comparison with patients with absence of heart dysfunction. Hence, sepsis-induced heart failure has been a key focus of clinical and basic research. However, despite decades of extensive research efforts, the underlying mechanisms of sepsis-induced heart dysfunction are still not completely understood. Mitochondria are key energy producing-powerhouses in the cell; disruption of the mitochondria has been implicated in sepsis-induced multi-organ failure. DJ-1 is an essential protein, which maintains the integrity and function of the mitochondria; this project will explore the role of DJ-1-dependent mitochondrial dysfunction in multiorgan failure.