title: [Function of the immune system in liver cirrhosis].
abstract: Malfunction of the immune system at different levels is typical for patients with liver cirrhosis. Both non-specific as well as antigen-specific functions may be compromised. The best studied and clinically most important problem is the diminished clearance capacity of the reticulo-endothelial system in liver cirrhosis. This transfers into a significantly higher rate of bacterial infections associated with a poorer prognosis in these patients. The clinical relevance of concomitant immune disorders like neutrophil dysfunction is less clear. An impaired activation of natural killer cells (NK) and lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK) may have a role in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma but additional studies are needed. Clinically important is a moderately reduced efficacy of standard immunization protocols, which can be overcome by an increased dose in most vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Gastroenterologie und Hepatologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bahr
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Manns
mesh_terms: D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000276:immunology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology; D015979:Killer Cells, Lymphokine-Activated / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000276:immunology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology; D012157:Mononuclear Phagocyte System / Q000276:immunology