Introduction
Decreased monocyte surface HLA-DR (mHLA-DR) measured by flow cytometry (FCM) is an independent marker of immunosuppression in sepsis. In a previous report we demonstrated that septic patients display a strong correlation between mHLA-DR and mRNA-levels of HLA-DRA in whole blood [1]. mRNA-based HLADR monitoring by PCR would improve the clinical usage and facilitate conduction of multicentre studies. The primary focus in this study was to evaluate the correlation between mHLA-DR and HLA-DRA at different time points during sepsis. In addition, we assessed the dynamic expression of both mHLA-DR and HLA-DRA, in relation to sepsis severity.