studies

346A AASLD ABSTRACTS HEPATOLOGY, October, 2015
Peter C. Hayes - Advisory Committees or Review Panels: Roche, MSD, Jannsen,
Gilead, ?ONO, Norgine; Grant/Research Support: Novartis; Speaking and
Teaching: Roche, MSD, Pfiser, Gore, Falk, Ferring
The following authors have nothing to disclose: Neil J. Lachlan, Scott I. Semple,
Dilip Patel, David Carr, John P. Iredale, Jonathan A. Fallowfield
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Ascites neutrophil dysfunction in patients with decompensated
cirrhosis is linked to ascites protein content
Cornelius Engelmann 1 , Christina Becker 2 , Andreas Boldt 2 , Sandra
Krohn 1 , Michael Bartels 3 , Thomas Berg 1 , Ulrich Sack 2 ; 1 Section
of Hepatology; Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology, Dermatology,
University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; 2 Institute
of Clinical Immunology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany;
3 Department of Visceral, Vascular, Thoracic and Transplant Surgery,
University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Background: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is a major and
life threatening complication in patients with decompensated
cirrhosis. Immune paralysis and neutrophil dysfuntion has been
regarded as a main driver for the increased risk of bacterial
infections in these patients. It remains unknown whether this
feature can be extrapolated to immune cells in the peritoneal
cavity. We therefore evaluated the cell function of neutrophils
(PMN) in ascites fluid. Material and Methods: In total 71 blood
and ascites samples of mainly male patients (n=48) with cirrhosis
(n=63) and without cirrhosis (malignant n=6, cardiac n=1,
Budd-Chiari syndrome n=1) were collected between August
2014 and May 2015. PMNs were identified by flow-cytometry.
Phagocytic activity (PA) as well as oxidative burst activity
(OBA) of both blood and ascites PMNs were evaluated after
in vitro stimulation with E.coli cells. Fluorescence signal was
measured by flow cytometry and PA and OBA was expressed
as percentage of viable PMNs. Function tests of ascites PMNs
were repeated in human albumin and autologous blood
plasma. Results: As compared to their blood counterparts, ascites
PMNs showed a significantly impaired PA and OBA with a
much broader activity range (median blood PA (n=70) 98.1%
(86.8-99.8) vs. median ascites PA (n=68) 52.95% (0.4-97.3),
p