Abstract
Gut Microbiota In an ironic complication of liver cirrhosis, beneficial microbes can escape from the gut and cause serious infections—or even death. Balmer et al. now show that the blood vessels of the healthy liver form a barrier to runaway gut bacteria. However, in animal models of liver disease and gut dysfunction and in patients with nonalcoholic liver disease, the liver is unable to capture these escapees. The bacteria then leak into the blood system, activating immune responses that break down the mutualistic relationship between the gut microbes and the host. This type of breakdown is an important complication of liver disease. Sci. Transl. Med. 6 , 237ra66 (2014).
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