The problem

Patients with acutely decompensated cirrhosis have intense systemic inflammation that contributes to aggravate the severity of the disease and the development of organ dysfunctions and failure.

The approach

We investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the inflammatory process commonly observed in chronic liver disease. We perform mechanistic studies in immune cells from these patients and use experimental models to test novel therapeutic approaches that could harness the unremitting inflammatory response characteristic of this condition.

Main discoveries and innovations 

• Using omics, we have described alterations in patients with decompensated cirrhosis that lead to the dysregulation of the lipidome and metabolome and to impaired mitochondrial function. 
• We have provided evidence indicating the therapeutic effects of albumin on these pathways.