Synthesis of acute phase proteins in rats with cirrhosis exposed to lipopolysaccharide

BACKGROUND In patients with cirrhosis, infection is frequent and a leading cause of death. This is secondary to various immunologic abnormalities in both the innate and the adaptive immune system. However, it remains unclear whether cirrhosis affects the inflammatory systemic component of the innate immunity, 'the acute phase response', mostly effectuated by the liver itself. We hypothesized that rats with cirrhosis raise a reduced acute phase response induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). RESULTS We examined the acute phase response induced by intraperitoneal injection of a low dose of LPS, in sham operated control animals and in rats with liver cirrhosis induced by bile duct ligation (BDL). We measured the serum concentrations of the most important acute phase proteins and their liver tissue gene expressions, assessed by mRNA levels. The BDL-model itself increased the serum concentration of alpha1-acid glycoprotein (alpha1AGP) and haptoglobin. LPS was lethal to 25% of the cirrhotic animals and to none of the controls. Twenty-four hours after LPS, the serum concentration of alpha1AGP and haptoglobin, the mRNA level of these acute phase proteins and of alpha2-macroglobulin and thiostatin rose to the same level in the animals with cirrhosis and in controls. CONCLUSION In rats with experimental cirrhosis LPS caused high mortality. In the survivors, the cirrhotic liver still synthesized acute phase proteins as the normal liver, indicating a normal hepatic contribution to this part of the acute phase response.