Defective monocyte oxidative burst predicts infection in alcoholic hepatitis and is associated with reduced expression of NADPH oxidase.

Objective: In order to explain the increased susceptibility to serious infection in alcoholic hepatitis, we evaluated monocyte phagocytosis, aberrations of associated signalling pathways and their reversibility, and whether phagocytic defects could predict subsequent infection.

Design: Monocytes were identified from blood samples of 42 patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis using monoclonal antibody to CD14. Phagocytosis and monocyte oxidative burst (MOB) were measured ex vivo using flow cytometry, luminometry and bacterial killing assays.

Does endotoxaemia contribute to osteoarthritis in obese patients?

OA (osteoarthritis) is a degenerative condition associated with obesity. A number of metabolic explanations have been proposed to explain the association between obesity and OA in non-weight-bearing joints; however, none of these hypotheses have been demonstrated empirically. In the present Hypothesis article, we recognize that obesity is associated with compromised gut mucosa, translocation of microbiota and raised serum LPS (lipopolysaccharide).