HIF1α Allows Monocytes to Take a Breather during Sepsis

How the immune system is negatively affected by sepsis is not fully understood. In this issue of Immunity, Shalova etal. (2015) show that during human sepsis monocytes upregulate hypoxia-inducible factor-α (HIF1-α) activity and acquire an immunosuppressive phenotype while retaining anti-bacterial and wound-healing properties. How the immune system is negatively affected by sepsis is not fully understood. Biswas and colleagues show that during human sepsis monocytes upregulate hypoxia-inducible factor-α (HIF1-α) activity and acquire an immunosuppressive phenotype while retaining anti-bacterial and wound-healing properties.