What is NETosis?
In the first video of our NETs educational series, Dr Andrew Retter, Volition’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses the process of NETosis, its role in sepsis and the development of Volition’s H3.1 assay.
NETosis is the release of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), where neutrophils eject DNA to trap pathogens. Traditionally, neutrophils were only known for phagocytosis, but research has shown that they can also degranulate and release NETs, which can capture bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Explaining how Nu.Q® H3.1 acts as a marker for NETosis, aiding in the diagnosis, monitoring and potential treatment of sepsis, this video dives into the biological mechanisms of NET release, showing how NETs can create both positive and harmful responses.
Clinical Evidence and Upcoming Studies
This video explores the clinical relevance of H3.1 in severe health conditions, such as COVID-19 and sepsis. We highlight clinical trials in France, the Netherlands, Germany and the U.S. that show a correlation between higher levels of H3.1 with increased patient severity, especially in intensive care.
How Viruses Manipulate Basic Hemostasis to Their Advantage
This video highlights how viruses manipulate the body’s immune and clotting systems to their advantage, exploiting natural processes for their survival and replication.
Modeling NETosis in a clinically relevant environment
In this video, we focus on neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and the importance of developing clinically relevant models to study NETs. Dr. Andrew Retter dives into Volition’s mission to advance diagnostics by developing models that better represent the process of NETosis.
Pneumococcus: an example of how bacteria can manipulate NETs to their advantage
Dr. Andrew Retter covers pneumococcal infection; how bacteria like pneumococcus can manipulate the body’s defenses, and how bacteria evade neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to survive and spread. He highlights how pneumococcus directly stimulates neutrophils to release NETs but also degrades them using enzymes, allowing them to escape the immune response.
NETs as a therapeutic target
In the final video of our series, we discuss how NETs, particularly H3.1 histones, might serve as a potential therapeutic target for treating sepsis. We focus on key studies that explore how blocking or manipulating NETs could mitigate the excessive immune response seen in sepsis.
Find out more about Nu.Q® NETs and our ongoing studies here.
