Sepsis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Severe febrile illnesses in children may be various in presentation and aetiology but involve immune dysfunction amenable to immunomodulation. Here, the authors identify shared neutrophil and T cell dysfunction and a distinct interferon signature in critically ill children with severe febrile illness.

In this Review, the authors examine advances in uromodulin biology, including the existence of non-polymeric forms of the protein, its versatile functions, crosstalk with the immune system, its potential as a biomarker and its role in kidney disease, as well as considering how uromodulin might be targeted therapeutically.

Wei et al. report a role for membrane perforation mediated by gasdermin D pores in disruption of the blood–brain barrier.

The placenta nourishes the foetus and supports its development and growth. Our study now identifies the placenta as a potential route for foetal infection with Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus), as indicated by an exaggerated in utero inflammatory response and poor perinatal outcome when group B Streptococcus is detected in the placenta.

Glycolysis provides building blocks for the proinflammatory activation of macrophages and simultaneously generates pyruvate. In this issue of Nature Metabolism, Ran et al. provide evidence that the transport of pyruvate to fuel the Krebs cycle in the mitochondria is not required in the inflammatory response.