The Importance of Wnt-signaling in the Pathobiology of Systemic Inflammation and Organ Dysfunction After Cardiac Surgery

Cardiac surgery saves lives when patients suffer from cardiac disease. Local inflammation is important for tissue repair and wound healing after such an operation. Inflammation starts already when the patient is treated in the intensive care unit. When inflammatory proteins (cytokines) are released into the circulation, they cause also a systemic inflammation, which alerts the immune system of the body and activates defence mechanisms (=adaptive response). In some patients, systemic inflammation is out of control thereby causing organ dysfunctions, shock, and in the most severe cases even death (=maladaptive response). The aim of this study is to investigate the early phase of inflammation after the operation. Repeated blood samples will be taken of patients undergoing cardiac surgery to describe the patterns and dynamics of inflammation proteins. A better understanding of these mechanisms will potentially lead to improved treatment of patients after cardiac surgery.