Patients With Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Have Increased Numbers of Regulatory Immune Cells Expressing the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase MERTK

Patients with ACLF have increased numbers of immunoregulatory monocytes and macrophages that express MERTK and suppress the innate immune response to microbes. The number of these cells correlates with disease severity and the inflammatory response. MERTK inhibitors restore production of inflammatory cytokines by immune cells from patients with ACLF, and might be developed to increase the innate immune response in these patients.