Opsonin-coated hollow fibers for pathogen removal from flowing blood

We report the development of a hollow fiber-based, dialysis-like therapeutic (DLT) device for sepsis treatment that is capable of cleansing pathogens and endotoxin from human blood flowing through an extracorporeal circuit without prior knowledge of the source of the infection. This device employs commercially available hollow fiber hemofilters coated covalently with a genetically engineered form of the human opsonin, Mannose Binding Lectin, containing an antibody Fc domain (FcMBL). In vitro pathogen cleansing results showed efficient (>90%) cleansing of S. aureus as well as endotoxin from human whole blood. In vivo studies showed greater than 2.5 Logs reduction of pathogens from blood (>99% efficiency) for the treated rats compared to controls.