Pathogen-Extracting Sepsis Therapy

Posted by

Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University

This video explains how sepsis induced by an overload of blood pathogens can be treated with the Wyss Institute’s improved pathogen-extracting, spleen-mimicking device. Blood is flown through a cartridge filled with hollow fibers that are coated with a genetically engineered blood protein inspired by a naturally-occurring human molecule called Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL). MBL is found in our innate immune system and binds to toxic invaders, marking them for capture by immune cells in the spleen. For more information, please visit: http://wyss.harvard.edu/viewpressrelease/215/