Evaluation of variation in the antimicrobial peptide beta-defensin 1 as genetic risk factor for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in patients with advanced cirrhosis

Introduction: Bacterial translocation has been associated with the occurrence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Recently we and others have shown that genetic variation in the muramyl dipeptide responsive NOD2 gene, which encodes a pivotal guardian of the immunological integrity of barrier organs, is associated with SBP occurrence and mortality of patients with cirrhosis (Hepatology 2010;51:1327 – 33). Human defensins are additional critical factors that promote antimicrobial host response (Hepatology 2012;55:1154 – 63). Therefore we now assessed genetic variation in th…