[Ascitic fluid from alcoholic cirrhosis patients does not enhance chemotaxis of polynuclear neutrophils].

Infected ascites are common in alcoholic cirrhosis. The mechanisms by which they contain few neutrophil granulocytes remain unknown. Ascitic fluids from 25 patients were studied for their chemotactic properties using Nelson's method 1975 (migration under agarose). Ascitic fluids were compared to plasmas from controls and to a standard attractant (FMLP, 10-7 M). Some fluids were diluted or concentrated by lyophilization, an inactivator was searched for, and the concentration of some complement components was determined. Ascitic fluids failed to be chemoattractant under agarose (25 cases), even concentrated 10 times (3 cases). Some complement components (CH5O, C3, C4 and factor B) could not be detected. It is likely that the absence of chemoattractant properties under agarose in ascitic fluids is related to a deficit in complement components. That might depend on deficient synthesis, or mainly on enhanced consumption. The impaired chemotaxis may serve to explain the low level of neutrophil granulocytes in infected fluids and the severity of infections.