Functions of Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Abstract

We investigated the functions of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) obtained from patients with liver cirrhosis since these patients have an increased susceptibility to infections. PMNs of the patients with cirrhosis showed phagocytic and bactericidal activities similar to those of normal controls whether the assays were performed in the presence of normal serum or of patients' serum. Chemotaxis-inrducing activity of the patients' serum was significantly reduced compared to that of normal serum. The release of O^-₂ by PMNs of patients in response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was greater than that of normal PMNs. However, O^-₂ release in response to opsonized zymosan (OZ) or without stimulant and ·OH generation were almost the same with patients' PMNs and normal PMNs. These data suggest that the decrease of chemotaxis-inducing activity of the patients' serum might cause the defect for PMNs to accumulate in the inflammatory focus, and this might be one of the reasons for increasing susceptibility to bacterial infections.