In contrast, an earlier study found that leukocyte HIF-1α mRNA and HIF-1α protein positive cells were lower in adult patients with severe sepsis compared to healthy volunteers 24 h after diagnosis, and that this was inversely correlated with illness severity, and the authors speculated that the patient immune defenses may have been imbalanced toward immunosuppression at the time of sampling [101]. This evidence concerns the gene HIF1A and Sepsis.