ArticlePloS one2015
Ascites bacterial burden and immune cell profile are associated with poor clinical outcomes in the absence of overt infection.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- NK Cells in Ascites From Liver Disease Patients Display a Particular Phenotype and Take Part in Antibacterial Immune Response.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Trial
- Review article: Immunosuppression in Decompensated Autoimmune Hepatitis Cirrhosis - To Suppress or Not to Suppress?Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Altered OXPHOS potential in ascites immune cells is linked to CD4 T-cell exhaustion and a higher risk of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in cirrhosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Immunological Mechanisms and Effects of Bacterial Infections in Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure.Cells · 2025Review
- Studies on the Role of Compartmentalized Profiles of Cytokines in the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- Plasticity of monocytes and macrophages in cirrhosis of the liver.Frontiers in network physiology · 2022Review
- Alterations of gut microbiota in cirrhotic patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis: A distinctive diagnostic feature.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Recent insights into the characteristics and role of peritoneal macrophages from ascites of cirrhotic patients.World journal of gastroenterology · 2021Article
- Bacteriophages immunomodulate the response of monocytes.Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.) · 2021Article
- Macrophages in Chronic Liver Failure: Diversity, Plasticity and Therapeutic Targeting.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Risk of ambulatory colonoscopy in patients with cirrhosis: a propensity-score matched cohort study.Endoscopy international open · 2020Article
- Article
- Causes and Consequences of Innate Immune Dysfunction in Cirrhosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Review
- Compartmentalization of Immune Response and Microbial Translocation in Decompensated Cirrhosis.Frontiers in immunology · 2019Article
- Gastroduodenal "Dysbiosis": a New Clinical Entity.Current treatment options in gastroenterology · 2018Review
- Amplification of bacterial genomic DNA from all ascitic fluids with a highly sensitive polymerase chain reaction.Molecular medicine reports · 2018Article
- Ascitic Bacterial Composition Is Associated With Clinical Outcomes in Cirrhotic Patients With Culture-Negative and Non-neutrocytic Ascites.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2018Article
- Relative Ascites Polymorphonuclear Cell Count Indicates Bacterascites and Risk of Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis.Digestive diseases and sciences · 2017Observational
- MicroRNA-155 is upregulated in ascites in patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- CRIg-expressing peritoneal macrophages are associated with disease severity in patients with cirrhosis and ascites.JCI insight · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Bacterial infections, most commonly spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with ascites, occur in one third of admitted patients with cirrhosis, and account for a 4-fold increase in mortality. Bacteria are isolated from less than 40% of ascites infections by culture, necessitating empirical antibiotic treatment, but culture-independent studies suggest bacteria are commonly present, even in the absence of overt infection. Widespread detection of low levels of bacteria in ascites, in the absence of peritonitis, suggests immune impairment may contribute to higher susceptibility to infection in cirrhotic patients. However, little is known about the role of ascites leukocyte composition and function in this context. We determined ascites bacterial composition by quantitative PCR and 16S rRNA gene sequencing in 25 patients with culture-negative, non-neutrocytic ascites, and compared microbiological data with ascites and peripheral blood leukocyte composition and phenotype. Bacterial DNA was detected in ascitic fluid from 23 of 25 patients, with significant positive correlations between bacterial DNA levels and poor 6-month clinical outcomes (death, readmission). Ascites leukocyte composition was variable, but dominated by macrophages or T lymphocytes, with lower numbers of B lymphocytes and natural killer cells. Consistent with the hypothesis that impaired innate immunity contributes to susceptibility to infection, high bacterial DNA burden was associated with reduced major histocompatibility complex class II expression on ascites (but not peripheral blood) monocytes/macrophages. These data indicate an association between the presence of ascites bacterial DNA and early death and readmission in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. They further suggest that impairment of innate immunity contributes to increased bacterial translocation, risk of peritonitis, or both.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.