REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Inflammation Pharmacology
Early Biomarkers for Predicting Sepsis-Induced Shock: Insights from Inflammatory Pathways and Immune Response
Provisionally accepted
- 1Hebei Province Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Hebei, China
- 2Hebei University of Chinese Medicine Hebei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shijiazhuang, China
- 3Shijiazhuang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Shijiazhuang, China
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Severe sepsis-induced shock is one of the most challenging problems in critical care despite the progress made in treatment. Recognizing high-risk patients early on is critical for successful results, and the standard diagnostic approaches to such an ailment fail to identify it prior to shock setting in. Biomarkers have become promising diagnostic, prognostic predictors and treatment surveillance platforms in sepsis in the past few years. This review discusses the significance of biomarkers, e.g., cytokines, chemokines, acute-phase proteins and immune dysfunction markers in the pathogenesis of sepsis-induced shock. Additionally, we investigate the potential of new biomarkers, including microRNAs, circular RNAs, endothelial biomarkers, gene signatures, a combination of multimarker panels and machine learning models to improve the diagnostic and prognostic proficiency. As effective as they may seem, they (biomarkers) create challenges in clinical application, including variability, standardization, cost and regulatory approval. This review discusses future approaches to sepsis biomarker research, focusing on personalized medicine, global availability, and clinical validation to address barriers currently experienced in improving sepsis management worldwide.
Keywords: diagnostic biomarkers, Early biomarkers, Immuneresponse, inflammatory pathways, sepsis-induced shock
Received: 22 Nov 2025; Accepted: 26 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Feng, Li, Zhao, Gao, Wang and Guo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiaoling Feng
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.