CONCLUSIONS: Transcriptional programs of early terminal granulocytic differentiation distinguish sepsis from SIRS due to both higher counts of immature granulocytes and elevated expression of early developmental genes in sepsis. The sustained expression of PLAC8 in mature granulocytes likely accounts for its selection in the whole blood SeptiCyte™ LAB test. Total granulocyte PLAC8 rivals CRP as sepsis biomarker. However, infection-specific transcriptional pathways, that differentiate sepsis …