Prolonged albumin administration in patients with decompensated cirrhosis: the amount makes the difference.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Tufoni M
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6789376 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Prolonged albumin administration in patients with decompensated cirrhosis: the amount makes the difference.
Tufoni Manuel M Zaccherini Giacomo G Caraceni Paolo P
Annals of translational medicine 20190901 Suppl 6
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Project description:BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The effects of intravenous albumin on lymphocyte perturbations and defective neutrophil anti-microbial functions that characterize patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) are unknown. METHODS: Forty-nine patients admitted for severe acutely decompensated cirrhosis without ACLF were investigated with the use of whole-blood RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) on admission and after a median period of 15 days once they had developed ACLF. Such patients were selected because they follow a steady systemic inflammation course. Thirty patients had received albumin during the progression to ACLF but not the 19 others. Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) exposed ex vivo to albumin or vehicle for 2 hours, and assessment of the anti-microbial capacity of neutrophils exposed ex vivo to albumin were performed in additional patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis. RESULTS: Analysis of whole-blood RNA-seq data revealed that patients who had received albumin exhibited specific upregulation of signatures related to B cells, plasma cells and immunoglobulins; CD4 T cells; myeloid cells; mismatch repair, cell cycle and mitosis; and transcription factors such as c-Myc and E2F family members. The use of scRNA-seq to analyze patients' PBMCs exposed ex vivo to albumin showed increases in signatures related to B cells, myeloid cells, and CD4 T cells. Neutrophils exposed ex vivo to albumin exhibited increased chemotactic and degranulation responses, enhanced phagocytosis, and increased pathogen-destroying swarming functions. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with severe acutely decompensated cirrhosis, albumin rewires transcription in B cells, CD4 T cells and mononuclear myeloid cells, and resets neutrophil anti-microbial functions to normal.
2025-04-08 | GSE171741 | GEO
Project description:The pathophysiological background of decompensated cirrhosis is characterised by a systemic proinflammatory and pro-oxidant milieu that plays a major role in the development of multiorgan dysfunction. Such abnormality is mainly due to the systemic spread of bacteria and/or bacterial products from the gut and danger-associated molecular patterns from the diseased liver triggering the release of proinflammatory mediators by activating immune cells. The exacerbation of these processes underlies the development of acute-on-chronic liver failure. A further mechanism promoting multiorgan dysfunction and failure likely consists with a mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction responsible for systemic cellular energy crisis. The systemic proinflammatory and pro-oxidant state of patients with decompensated cirrhosis is also responsible for structural and functional changes in the albumin molecule, which spoil its pleiotropic non-oncotic properties such as antioxidant, scavenging, immune-modulating and endothelium protective functions. The knowledge of these abnormalities provides novel targets for mechanistic treatments. In this respect, the oncotic and non-oncotic properties of albumin make it a potential multitarget agent. This would expand the well-established indications to the use of albumin in decompensated cirrhosis, which mainly aim at improving effective volaemia or preventing its deterioration. Evidence has been recently provided that long-term albumin administration to patients with cirrhosis and ascites improves survival, prevents complications, eases the management of ascites and reduces hospitalisations. However, variant results indicate that further investigations are needed, aiming at confirming the beneficial effects of albumin, clarifying its optimal dosage and administration schedule and identify patients who would benefit most from long-term albumin administration.
| S-EPMC7282556 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Decompensated liver cirrhosis has a dismal prognosis, with patients surviving on average for 2-4 years after the first diagnosis of ascites. Albumin is an important tool in the therapy of cirrhotic ascites. By virtue of its oncotic properties, it reduces the risk of cardiovascular dysfunction after paracentesis. Treatment with albumin also counteracts the development of hepatorenal syndrome and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. More recently, the positive impact of long-term albumin supplementation in liver disease, based on its pleiotropic non-oncotic activities, has been recognized. These include transport of endo- and exogenous substances, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory activities, and stabilizing effects on the endothelium. Besides the growing recognition that effective albumin therapy requires adjustment of the plasma level to normal physiological values, the search for substances with adjuvant activities is becoming increasingly important. More than 75% of patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis do not only present with hypoalbuminemia but also with zinc deficiency. There is a close relationship between albumin and the essential trace element zinc. First and foremost, albumin is the main carrier of zinc in plasma, and is hence critical for systemic distribution of zinc. In this review, we discuss important functions of albumin in the context of metabolic, immunological, oxidative, transport, and distribution processes, alongside crucial functions and effects of zinc and their mutual dependencies. In particular, we focus on the major role of chronic inflammatory processes in pathogenesis and progression of liver cirrhosis and how albumin therapy and zinc supplementation may affect these processes.
| S-EPMC8618355 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background and aimsCirculating albumin in cirrhosis can be dysfunctional because of accumulating structural damages, leading to the concept of effective albumin concentration (eAlb), referring to the albumin portion presenting structural and functional integrity. We aimed to estimate eAlb in patients with decompensated cirrhosis and analyze its relationships with albumin function and clinical outcomes as compared to total albumin concentration (tAlb).Approach and resultsWe evaluated 319 patients with cirrhosis hospitalized for acute decompensation (AD) with and without acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and 18 age- and sex-comparable outpatients with compensated cirrhosis. tAlb was quantified by standard assay, whereas eAlb was estimated combining liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry and standard methods. Albumin binding and detoxification efficiency were evaluated by electron paramagnetic resonance analysis. Circulating albumin in patients with decompensated cirrhosis displayed multiple structural abnormalities, with reversible oxidation and glycation being the most frequent. As a result, eAlb progressively declined with the worsening of cirrhosis and was superior to tAlb in stratifying patients between compensated cirrhosis, AD, and ACLF, as well as patients with and without complications. Moreover, eAlb, but not tAlb, was closely associated with binding capacities in ACLF. Finally, eAlb at admission predicted the occurrence of ACLF within 30 days and mortality at 90 days better than tAlb.ConclusionsThis large, observational study provides the evidence in patients with decompensated cirrhosis that eAlb can be quantified and differentiated from tAlb routinely measured in clinical practice. As compared to tAlb, eAlb is more closely associated with disease severity and albumin dysfunction and carries a greater prognostic power. These results prompt future research assessing eAlb as a biomarker for predicting prognosis and treatment response.
| S-EPMC8518406 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Mortality in cirrhosis is mostly associated with the development of clinical decompensation, characterized by ascites, hepatic encephalopathy, variceal bleeding, or jaundice. Therefore, it is important to prevent and manage such complications. Traditionally, the pathophysiology of decompensated cirrhosis was explained by the peripheral arterial vasodilation hypothesis, but it is currently understood that decompensation might also be driven by a systemic inflammatory state (the systemic inflammation hypothesis). Considering its oncotic and nononcotic properties, albumin has been thoroughly evaluated in the prevention and management of several of these decompensating events. There are formal evidence-based recommendations from international medical societies proposing that albumin be administered in individuals with cirrhosis undergoing large-volume paracentesis, patients with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, those with acute kidney injury (even before the etiological diagnosis), and those with hepatorenal syndrome. Moreover, there are a few randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses suggesting a possible role for albumin infusion in patients with cirrhosis and ascites (long-term albumin administration), individuals with hepatic encephalopathy, and those with acute-on-chronic liver failure undergoing modest-volume paracentesis. Further studies are necessary to elucidate whether albumin administration also benefits patients with cirrhosis and other complications, such as individuals with extraperitoneal infections, those hospitalized with decompensated cirrhosis and hypoalbuminemia, and patients with hyponatremia.
| S-EPMC9476855 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Background & aimsPatients with acutely decompensated (AD) cirrhosis are immunocompromised and particularly susceptible to infections. This study investigated the immunomodulatory actions of albumin by which this protein may lower the incidence of infections.MethodsBlood immunophenotyping was performed in 11 patients with AD cirrhosis and 10 healthy volunteers (HV). Bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and flow cytometry were performed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 20 patients with AD cirrhosis and 34 HV exposed to albumin. Albumin's effects on degranulation, phagocytosis, chemotaxis, and swarming of neutrophils from six patients with AD cirrhosis and nine HV were assessed by measuring myeloperoxidase enzymatic activity, the engulfment of fluorescent-labeled Escherichia coli and zymosan, and interactions of neutrophils with Candida albicans at single-cell resolution in microfluidic chambers, respectively. Whole blood RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analyses were performed in 49 patients admitted for severe AD cirrhosis, of whom 30 received albumin during hospitalization.ResultsCompared with HV, patients with AD cirrhosis showed severe lymphopenia and defective neutrophil antimicrobial function. Bulk and scRNA-seq analyses revealed significantly (false discovery rate [FDR] <0.05) increased signatures related to B cells, myeloid cells, and CD4+ T cells in PBMCs incubated with albumin. Changes in the B cell population were confirmed by flow cytometry. Neutrophils exposed to albumin also exhibited augmented chemotactic and degranulation responses, enhanced phagocytosis, and increased pathogen-restrictive swarming. RNA-seq data analysis in patients who had received albumin revealed specific upregulation of signatures related to B cells and neutrophils together with transcriptional changes in CD4+ T cells (FDR <0.05).ConclusionsThe finding that albumin promotes the transcriptional reprogramming and expansion of the B cell compartment and improves neutrophil antimicrobial functions indicates mechanisms that may lower the incidence of infections in patients with severe AD cirrhosis receiving albumin therapy.Impact and implicationsPatients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis receiving albumin as treatment have a lower incidence of infections. The reason for this protection is currently unknown, but the present study provides data that support the ability of albumin to boost the antimicrobial functions of immune cells in these patients. Moreover, these findings encourage the design of controlled clinical studies specifically aimed at investigating the effects of albumin administration on the immune system.
| S-EPMC11490805 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human serum albumin (HSA) is an emerging treatment for preventing excessive systemic inflammation and organ failure(s) in patients with acutely decompensated (AD) cirrhosis. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanisms underlying the immunomodulatory properties of HSA. Administration of HSA to patients with AD cirrhosis with elevated circulating bacterial DNA (CpG-DNA) was associated with reduced plasma cytokine levels. In isolated leukocytes, HSA abolished CpG-DNA-induced cytokine expression and release independently of its oncotic and scavenging properties. Similar anti-inflammatory effects were observed with recombinant human albumin. HSA exerted widespread changes on the immune cell transcriptome, specifically in genes related to the endosomal compartment involved in cytosolic DNA sensing and type I interferon responses. Flow cytometry and confocal microscopy analyses revealed that HSA was taken up by leukocytes and internalized in vesicles positively stained with EEA1, a marker of early endosomes. Indeed, HSA and CpG-DNA colocalized in endosomes, the compartment where CpG-DNA binds to TLR9, its cognate receptor. Furthermore, HSA also inhibited poly-(I:C)- and LPS-induced IRF3 phosphorylation and TRIF-mediated responses, which are exclusive of endosomal TLR3 and TLR4 signaling, respectively. The immunomodulatory actions of HSA did not compromise leukocyte defensive mechanisms such as phagocytosis, efferocytosis and intracellular ROS production. The in vitro immunomodulatory effects of HSA were confirmed in vivo in analbuminemic humanized FcRn transgenic mice. In conclusion, these findings indicate that HSA internalizes in immune cells and modulates their responses through interaction with endosomal TLR signaling, thus providing a mechanism for the benefits of HSA infusions in patients with cirrhosis.
2023-03-02 | GSE146462 | GEO
Project description:Albumin treatment transcriptionally reprograms circulating immune cells in patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis
| PRJNA720693 | ENA
Project description:IntroductionAlbumin is recommended in decompensated cirrhosis, and studies have shown potential immunomodulatory effects. However, 2 large trials of repeated albumin infusions demonstrated contrasting results between outpatients and hospitalized patients. We investigated markers of systemic inflammation, immune function, albumin binding, and cardiovascular function using samples from Albumin To prevenT Infection in chronic liveR failurE (ATTIRE) taken at baseline, day 5, and day 10 of the trial to identify why targeted albumin infusions had no effect in hospitalized patients.MethodsPlasma samples were analyzed from 143 patients (n = 71 targeted albumin; n = 72 standard care at baseline) for cytokines, cardiovascular markers, prostaglandin E2, the effect of plasma on macrophage function, and albumin radioligand binding and oxidation status. The sample size was based on our feasibility study, and samples were selected by a trial statistician stratified by the serum albumin level and the presence of infection at randomization and analyses performed blinded to the study arm. Data were linked to 3-month mortality and treatment groups compared.ResultsIncreased baseline model for end-stage liver disease score, white cell count, calprotectin, CD163, tumor necrosis factor, renin, atrial natriuretic peptide, and syndecan-1 were associated with 3-month mortality. Despite infusing substantially differing volumes of albumin, there were no significant differences in inflammatory markers, albumin-prostaglandin E2 binding, or cardiovascular markers between treatment arms.DiscussionContrary to many preclinical studies, targeted intravenous albumin therapy in hospitalized decompensated cirrhosis had no effect across a broad range of systemic inflammation, albumin function, and cardiovascular mediators and biomarkers compared with standard care, consistent with the null clinical findings.
| S-EPMC9132514 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Patients with cirrhosis often develop malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, leading to a worse prognosis and increased mortality. Our main goal was to assess the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. This was a prospective single-center study including 125 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute decompensation of cirrhosis (mostly of alcoholic etiology). A blood test including trace elements and vitamins was performed on admission. The main micronutrient deficiencies observed were vitamin D (in 94.5%), vitamin A (93.5%), vitamin B6 (60.8%) and zinc (85.6%). Patients in Child-Pugh class C had lower levels of vitamin A (p < 0.0001), vitamin E (p = 0.01) and zinc (p < 0.001), and higher levels of ferritin (p = 0.002) and vitamin B12 (p < 0.001) than those in Child-Pugh class A and B. Patients with a higher model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score had lower levels of vitamin A (p < 0.0001), vitamin E (p < 0.001), magnesium (p = 0.01) and zinc (p = 0.001), and higher levels of ferritin (p = 0.002) and vitamin B12 (p < 0.0001). Severe hepatic insufficiency correlated with lower levels of zinc, vitamin E and vitamin A, and higher levels of vitamin B12 and ferritin.
| S-EPMC8069759 | biostudies-literature