Trauma is a leading cause of death in both military and civilian populations worldwide. Although medical advances have improved the overall morbidity and mortality often associated with trauma, additional research and innovative advancements in therapeutic interventions are needed to optimize patient outcomes. Cell-based therapies present a novel opportunity to improve trauma and critical care at both the acute and chronic phases that often follow injury. Although this field is still in its infancy, animal and human studies suggest that stem cells may hold great promise for the treatment of brain and spinal cord injuries, organ injuries, and extremity injuries such as those caused by orthopedic trauma, burns, and critical limb ischemia. However, barriers in the translation of cell therapies that include regulatory obstacles, challenges in manufacturing and clinical trial design, and a lack of funding are critical areas in need of development. In 2015, the Department of Defense Combat Casualty Care Research Program held a joint military–civilian meeting as part of its effort to inform the research community about this field and allow for effective planning and programmatic decisions regarding research and development. The objective of this article is to provide a “state of the science” review regarding cellular therapies in trauma and critical care, and to provide a foundation from which the potential of this emerging field can be harnessed to mitigate outcomes in critically ill trauma patients.

Objective Pertussis persists in the United States despite high immunization rates. The present report characterizes the presentation and acute course of critical pertussis by quantifying demographic data, laboratory findings, clinical complications, and critical care therapies required among children requiring admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Eight PICUs comprising the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network and 17 additional PICUs across the United States. Patients Eligible patients had laboratory confirmation of pertussis infection, were < 18 years of age, and died in the PICU or were admitted to the PICU for at least 24 hours between June 2008 and August 2011. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results 127 patients were identified. Median age was 49 days, and 105 (83%) patients were < 3 months of age. Fifty-five (43%) required mechanical ventilation. Twelve (9.4%) died during initial hospitalization. Pulmonary hypertension was found in 16 patients (12.5%), and was present in 75% of patients who died, compared with 6% of survivors (p< 0.001). Median white blood cell count (WBC) was significantly higher in those requiring mechanical ventilation (p<0.001), those with pulmonary hypertension (p<0.001) and non-survivors (p<0.001). Age, sex and immunization status did not differ between survivors and non-survivors. Fourteen patients received leukoreduction therapy (exchange transfusion (12), leukopheresis (1) or both (1)). Survival benefit was not apparent. Conclusions Pulmonary hypertension may be associated with mortality in pertussis critical illness. Elevated WBC is associated with the need for mechanical ventilation, pulmonary hypertension, and mortality risk. Research is indicated to elucidate how pulmonary hypertension, immune responsiveness, and elevated WBC contribute to morbidity and mortality, and whether leukoreduction might be efficacious.

Interleukin-1 receptor-deficient (IL-1R؊/؊ ) mice are healthy despite being colonized by commensal microbes but are defective in defenses against specific pathogens, suggesting that IL-1R-mediated effects contribute to immune responses against specific pathogenic mechanisms. To better define the role of IL-1R in immunity to respiratory infections, we challenged IL-1R؊/؊ mice with Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis, the causative agents of whooping cough. Following inoculation with B. pertussis, but not B. parapertussis, IL-1R ؊/؊ mice showed elevated bacterial numbers and more extensive inflammatory pathology than wild-type mice. Acellular B. pertussis vaccines were not efficiently protective against B. pertussis in IL-1R ؊/؊ mice. B. pertussisstimulated dendritic cells from IL-1R؊/؊ mice produced higher levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-␣) and IL-6 than wild-type cells. Moreover, elevated levels of gamma interferon (IFN-␥) and TNF-␣ but lower levels of IL-10 were detected during B. pertussis infection in IL-1R

Despite over 50 years of population-wide vaccination, whooping cough incidence is on the rise. Although Bordetella pertussis is considered the main causative agent of whooping cough in humans, Bordetella parapertussis infections are not uncommon. The widely used acellular whooping cough vaccines (aP) are comprised solely of B. pertussis antigens that hold little or no efficacy against B. parapertussis. Here, we ask how aP vaccination affects competitive interactions between Bordetella species within co-infected rodent hosts and thus the aP-driven strength and direction of in-host selection. We show that aP vaccination helped clear B. pertussis but resulted in an approximately 40-fold increase in B. parapertussis lung colony-forming units (CFUs). Such vaccine-mediated facilitation of B. parapertussis did not arise as a result of competitive release; B. parapertussis CFUs were higher in aP-relative to sham-vaccinated hosts regardless of whether infections were single or mixed. Further, we show that aP vaccination impedes host immunity against B. parapertussis-measured as reduced lung inflammatory and neutrophil responses. Thus, we conclude that aP vaccination interferes with the optimal clearance of B. parapertussis and enhances the performance of this pathogen. Our data raise the possibility that widespread aP vaccination can create hosts more susceptible to B. parapertussis infection.