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Figure 1 | Critical Care

Figure 1

From: Circulating adenosine increases during human experimental endotoxemia but blockade of its receptor does not influence the immune response and subsequent organ injury

Figure 1

Schematic view of the hypothesis. During systemic inflammation, the circulating adenosine concentration increases rapidly, resulting in a negative feedback loop limiting (a) inflammation-induced cytokine release and (b) tissue injury. However, in the presence of caffeine, a non-selective adenosine receptor antagonist, this mechanism of protection is lost and inflammation-induced tissue damage will be aggravated. In the presence of the 34C > T variant of the AMPD1 gene, the inflammation-induced increase in adenosine concentration is augmented, and therefore the inflammatory response and organ injury are reduced. AMPD1, adenosine monophosphate deaminase.

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Critical Care

ISSN: 1364-8535