A prospective study in 50 AH patients and 46 controls (26 patients with stable alcoholic cirrhosis and 20 healthy individuals) followed for 30 days measured plasma levels of soluble CD163 and liver tissue expression of CD163 as a specific marker of inflammatory macrophage activation, and plasma LPS, sCD14, and LBP as key components of the LPS pathway. Here, LBP is linked to alcoholic liver cirrhosis.