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Myeloid cells are key regulators of cirrhosis, a major cause of mortality worldwide. Because stromal cells can modulate the functionality of myeloid cells in vitro, targeting stromal-myeloid interactions has become an attractive potential therapeutic strategy. We aimed to investigate how human liver stromal cells impact myeloid cell properties and to understand the utility of a stromal-myeloid coculture system to study these interactions in the context of cirrhosis.Single-cell RNA-sequencing analyses of non-cirrhotic (n = 7) and cirrhotic (n = 5) human liver tissue were correlated to the bulk RNA-sequencing results of in vitro cocultured human CD14We found that stromal-myeloid coculture reduces the frequency CD14Our work reveals an unanticipated role for liver stromal cells in impeding the maturation and altering the differentiation of macrophages and should prompt investigations into the role of local IL-6 production in the pathogenesis of liver disease. These studies provide a framework for investigating macrophage-stromal interactions during cirrhosis.The impact of human liver stromal cells on myeloid cell maturation and differentiation in liver disease is incompletely understood. In this study, we present a mechanistic analysis using a primary in vitro human liver stromal-myeloid coculture system that is translated to liver disease using single-cell RNA sequencing analysis of cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic human liver tissue. Our work supports a role for stromal cell contact in restricting macrophage maturation and for stromal-derived IL-6 in limiting the differentiation of a cirrhotic macrophage subset.

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, spore forming anaerobe that infects the gut when the normal microbiota has been disrupted. C. difficile infection (CDI) is the most common cause of hospital acquired infection in the United States, and the leading cause of death due to gastroenteritis. Patients suffering from CDI have varying symptoms which range from mild diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis and death. The involvement of the immune response to influence disease severity is just beginning to be investigated. There is evidence that the immune response can facilitate either protective or pathogenic phenotypes, suggesting it plays a multifaceted role during CDI. In addition to the immune response, the microbiota is pivotal in dictating the pathogenesis to CDI. A healthy microbiota effectively inhibits infection by restricting the ability of C. difficile to expand in the colon. Thus, understanding which immune mediators and components of the microbiota play beneficial roles during CDI will be important to future therapeutic developments. This review outlines how the microbiota can modulate specific immune mediators, such as IL-23 and others, to influence disease outcome.

Infection with the opportunistic enteric pathogen Clostridium difficile is an increasingly common clinical complication that follows antibiotic treatment-induced gut microbiota perturbation. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are early responders to enteric pathogens; however, their role during C. difficile infection is undefined. To identify immune pathways that mediate recovery from C. difficile infection, we challenged C57BL/6, Rag1−/−, which lack T and B cells, and Rag2−/− Il2rg−/− (Ragγc−/−) mice, which additionally lack ILCs, with C. difficile. In contrast to Rag1−/− mice, ILC-deficient Ragγc−/− mice rapidly succumbed to infection. Rag1−/−, but not Ragγc−/− mice, upregulate expression of ILC1 or ILC3 associated proteins following C. difficile infection. Protection against infection was restored by transferring ILCs into Ragγc−/− mice. While ILC3s made a minor contribution to resistance, loss of IFN-γ or T-bet-expressing ILC1s in Rag1−/− mice increased susceptibility to C. difficile. These data demonstrate a critical role for ILC1s in defense against C. difficile.