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Liver in sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome
Gyongyi Szabo1, Laszlo Romics, Gyorgy Frendl
1Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 364 Plantation Street, NRB Floor 2, Room 215, Worcester, MA 01605-2324, USA. gyongyi.scabo@umassmed.edu
Abstract:
In patients with sepsis and SIRS, the liver has two opposing roles: a source of inflammatory mediators and a target organ for the effects of the inflammatory mediators. The liver is pivotal in modulating the systemic response to severe infection, because it contains the largest mass of macrophages (Kupffer cells) in the body; these macrophages can clear the endotoxin and bacteria that initiate the systemic inflammatory response. This article summarizes the functional changes that take place in the liver during sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome and discusses the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie clinical outcomes.