Cytokines are small proteins produced by the body’s cells that have a big impact on our immune system. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital believe that modulating their presence in our bodies could be the key to improving outcomes in life-threatening cases of trauma, hemorrhage and many other conditions including sepsis, which alone impacts nearly one million Americans each year.

The reason? Cells essentially use cytokines to talk to one another. In response to their surroundings, cells release different types of cytokines that encourage inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects on the body. Infection or trauma causes cells to pump out more cytokines that produce inflammation. Altogether, an escalating chorus of cytokines can sometimes tip a person’s body into overwhelming inflammation that can turn fatal, which is what happens during sepsis.

But what if scientists could remove the problematic cytokines to bring the choir into perfect tune, allowing the immune system to respond with just the right amount of inflammation for healing? …