Epigenetic basis for monocyte dysfunction in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis

Severe forms of alcohol-related liver disease are associated with increased susceptibility to infections which are associated with poor prognosis. The cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for this altered host defense are incompletely understood. We performed whole blood phenotypic analysis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of hepatology 2020-08, Vol.73 (2), p.303-314
Main Authors: Weichselbaum, Laura, Azouz, Abdulkader, Smolen, Kinga K., Das, Jishnu, Splittgerber, Marion, Lepida, Antonia, Moreno, Christophe, Schreiber, Jonas, Sersté, Thomas, Trepo, Eric, Libert, Frederick, Gustot, Thierry, Goriely, Stanislas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute-on-chronic liver failure
Alcohol
Alcoholic hepatitis
Alcoholic liver disease
Biopsy
CD14 antigen
Chromatin
Cirrhosis
Dendritic cells
Epigenetic
Epigenetics
Gram-negative bacteria
Hepatitis
Immune dysfunction
Immunomodulation
Infection
Inflammation
Life Sciences
Lipopolysaccharides
Liver cirrhosis
Liver diseases
Metabolic pathways
Molecular modelling
Monocytes
Pathogens
Prognosis
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
Surface markers
Transcription
Transcriptomics
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Summary:Severe forms of alcohol-related liver disease are associated with increased susceptibility to infections which are associated with poor prognosis. The cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for this altered host defense are incompletely understood. We performed whole blood phenotypic analysis and ex vivo stimulation with various pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). We included 34 patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis (18 of whom had biopsy-proven severe alcoholic hepatitis [sAH]), 12 healthy controls and 11 patients with chronic alcohol consumption without significant liver disease. We also evaluated the transcriptomic (RNA-seq) and chromatin accessibility (ATAC-seq) profiles of CD14+ monocytes from a subset of patients. Circulating monocytes and conventional dendritic cells (DCs) from patients with sAH displayed complex alterations characterized by increased expression of both activating and inhibitory surface markers and an impaired pro-inflammatory response upon stimulation with PAMPs representative of gram-negative bacteria (lipopolysaccharide, Pam3CSK4) or fungal pathogens (Zymosan). Their decreased ability to produce more than 1 cytokine (polyfunctionality) upon PAMP stimulation correlated with the risk of developing infection at 28 days or mortality at 90 days. The presence of acute-on-chronic liver failure in patients with sAH did not significantly modify the immune profile of monocytes and DCs. Moreover, CD14+ monocytes of patients with sAH displayed altered transcriptional and epigenomic profiles characterized by downregulation of key innate immune and metabolic pathways and upregulation of important immunomodulatory factors. In patients with sAH, the altered transcriptional program and functional properties of monocytes that contribute to patients' susceptibility to infection have strong epigenetic determinants. Patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis are at increased risk of infections, which contribute to the poor prognosis associated with the disease. Herein, we show that epigenetic determinants underly the immune cell dysfunction and inappropriate responses to pathogens that are associated with severe alcoholic hepatitis. [Display omitted] •Monocytes and dendritic cells are impaired in severe alcoholic hepatitis.•This immune dysfunction is associated with higher risk of infection and mortality.•The presence of ACLF does not enhance monocyte and dendritic alterations.•The altered transcriptomic program of monocytes has st
ISSN:0168-8278
1600-0641
DOI:10.1016/j.jhep.2020.02.017