Interleukin-mediated therapies in liver diseases and comorbidity effects

Cytokines like interleukins(ILs)play important roles in inflammation and innate immune.Yang and Zhang carried out an interesting study related to ILs and hepatic diseases.They described the role of ILs in the pathogenesis and resolution of hepatic disorders.The authors summarized alcohol-related liver disease and virus-induced hepatitis,as far as clinical studies a fortiori carried out on ILmediated treatments pertaining to these dysfunctions.This editorial contributes to the review by Yang and Zhang titled,"Interleukins in liver disease treatment",and focuses on therapies mediated by ILs in comorbid liver diseases.The documentary search was conducted on recent pertinent literature,primarily using the Google Scholar and PubMed databases.

Dynamic changes and clinical value of lipocalin 2 in liver diseases caused by microbial infections

Lipocalin 2(LCN2)plays a pivotal role in iron metabolism,particularly in the context of microbial infection resistance(e.g.,viruses,bacteria,parasites,etc.).LCN2 combats microbial infection by directly assisting the body in competing with microorganisms for iron,inducing immune cells to secrete various cytokines to enhance systemic immune responses,or recruiting neutrophils to infectious sites.The liver serves as the primary organ for LCN2 secretion during microbial infections.This review encapsulates recent advances in dynamic changes,clinical values,and the effects of LCN2 in infectious liver diseases caused by various microbial microorganisms.

Ferroptosis in liver diseases:Fundamental mechanism and clinical implications

This editorial discusses a recently published paper in the World Journal of Gastroenterology.Our research focuses on p53's regulatory mechanism for controlling ferroptosis,as well as the intricate connection between ferroptosis and liver diseases.Ferroptosis is a specific form of programmed cell death that is dependent on iron and displays unique features in terms of morphology,biology,and genetics,distinguishing it from other forms of cell death.Ferroptosis can affect the liver,which is a crucial organ responsible for iron storage and metabolism.Mounting evidence indicates a robust correlation between ferroptosis and the advancement of liver disorders.P53 has a dual effect on ferroptosis through various distinct signaling pathways.However,additional investigations are required to clarify the regulatory function of p53 metabolic targets in this complex association with ferroptosis.In the future,researchers should clarify the mechanisms by which ferroptosis and other forms of programmed cell death contribute to the progression of liver diseases.Identifying and controlling important regulatory factors associated with ferroptosis present a promising therapeutic strategy for liver disorders.

Ferritinophagy: A new idea for liver diseases regulated by ferroptosis

Background:The discovery of regulatory cell death has led to a breakthrough in the therapeutic field.Various forms of cell death,such as necrosis,apoptosis,pyroptosis,autophagy,and ferroptosis,play an important role in the development of liver diseases.In general,more than one form of cell death pathways is responsible for the disease state.Therefore,it is particularly important to study the regulation and interaction of various cell death forms in liver diseases.Data sources:We performed a PubMed search up to November 2022 with the following keywords:ferritinophagy,ferroptosis,and liver disease.We also used terms such as signal path,inducer,and inhibitor to supplement the query results.Results:This review summarized the basic characteristics of ferritinophagy and ferroptosis and the regulation of ferroptosis by ferritinophagy and reviewed the key targets and treatment strategies of ferroptosis in different liver diseases.Conclusions:Ferritinophagy is a potential therapeutic target in ferroptosis-related liver diseases.

Characterization of acute-on-chronic liver diseases: A multicenter prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND Acute-on-chronic liver disease(AoCLD)accounts for the majority of patients hospitalized in the Department of Hepatology or Infectious Diseases.AIM To explore the characterization of AoCLD to provide theoretical guidance for the accurate diagnosis and prognosis of AoCLD.METHODS Patients with AoCLD from the Chinese Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure(ACLF)study cohort were included in this study.The clinical characteristics and outcomes,and the 90-d survival rate associated with each clinical type of AoCLD were analyzed,using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.RESULTS A total of 3375 patients with AoCLD were enrolled,including 1679(49.7%)patients with liver cirrhosis acute decompensation(LC-AD),850(25.2%)patients with ACLF,577(17.1%)patients with chronic hepatitis acute exacer-bation(CHAE),and 269(8.0%)patients with liver cirrhosis active phase(LC-A).The most common cause of chronic liver disease(CLD)was HBV infection(71.4%).The most common precipitants of AoCLD was bacterial infection(22.8%).The 90-d mortality rates of each clinical subtype of AoCLD were 43.4%(232/535)for type-C ACLF,36.0%(36/100)for type-B ACLF,27.0%(58/215)for type-A ACLF,9.0%(151/1679)for LC-AD,3.0%(8/269)for LC-A,and 1.2%(7/577)for CHAE.CONCLUSION HBV infection is the main cause of CLD,and bacterial infection is the main precipitant of AoCLD.The most common clinical type of AoCLD is LC-AD.Early diagnosis and timely intervention are needed to reduce the mortality of patients with LC-AD or ACLF.

Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and its modulators in nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)is a global health concern associated with significant morbidity and mortality.NAFLD is a spectrum of diseases originating from simple steatosis,progressing through nonalcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH),fibrosis,and cirrhosis that may lead to hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).The pathogenesis of NAFLD is mediated by the triglyceride accumulation followed by proinflam-matory cytokines expression leading to inflammation,oxidative stress,and mitochondrial dysfunction de-noted as“two-hit hypothesis”,advancing with a“third hit”of insufficient hepatocyte proliferation,lead-ing to the increase in hepatic progenitor cells contributing to fibrosis and HCC.Wnt/β-catenin signaling is responsible for normal liver development,regeneration,hepatic metabolic zonation,ammonia and drug detoxification,hepatobiliary development,etc.,maintaining the overall liver homeostasis.The key regula-tors of canonical Wnt signaling such as LRP6,Wnt1,Wnt3a,β-catenin,GSK-3β,and APC are abnormally regulated in NAFLD.Many experimental studies have shown the aberrated Wnt/β-catenin signaling dur-ing the NAFLD progression and NASH to hepatic fibrosis and HCC.Therefore,in this review,we have em-phasized the role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and its modulators that can potentially aid in the inhibition of NAFLD.

Bone loss in chronic liver diseases:Could healthy liver be a requirement for good bone health?

Given that the liver is involved in many metabolic mechanisms,it is not surprising that chronic liver disease(CLD)could have numerous complications.Secondary osteoporosis and increased bone fragility are frequently overlooked complications in CLD patients.Previous studies implied that up to one-third of these individuals meet diagnostic criteria for osteopenia or osteoporosis.Recent publications indicated that CLD-induced bone fragility depends on the etiology,duration,and stage of liver disease.Therefore,the increased fracture risk in CLD patients puts a severe socioeconomic burden on the health system and urgently requires more effective prevention,diagnosis,and treatment measures.The pathogenesis of CLD-induced bone loss is multifactorial and still insufficiently understood,especially considering the relative impact of increased bone resorption and reduced bone formation in these individuals.It is essential to note that inconsistent findings regarding bone mineral density measurement were previously reported in these individuals.Bone mineral density is widely used as the“golden standard”in the clinical assessment of bone fragility although it is not adequate to predict individual fracture risk.Therefore,microscale bone alterations(bone microstructure,mechanical properties,and cellular indices)were analyzed in CLD individuals.These studies further support the thesis that bone strength could be compromised in CLD individuals,implying that an individualized approach to fracture risk assessment and subsequent therapy is necessary for CLD patients.However,more well-designed studies are required to solve the bone fragility puzzle in CLD patients.

Autoimmune liver diseases and SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),causing coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),can trigger autoimmunity in genetically predisposed individuals through hyperstimulation of immune response and molecular mimicry.Here we summarise the current knowledge about autoimmune liver diseases(AILDs)and SARS-CoV-2,focusing on:(1)The risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the course of COVID-19 in patients affected by AILDs;(2)the role of SARS-CoV-2 in inducing liver damage and triggering AILDs;and(3)the ability of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 to induce autoimmune responses in the liver.Data derived from the literature suggest that patients with AILDs do not carry an increased risk of SARS-Cov-2 infection but may develop a more severe course of COVID-19 if on treatment with steroids or thiopurine.Although SARSCoV-2 infection can lead to the development of several autoimmune diseases,few reports correlate it to the appearance of de novo manifestation of immunemediated liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis(AIH),primary biliary cholangitis(PBC)or AIH/PBC overlap syndrome.Different case series of an AIHlike syndrome with a good prognosis after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have been described.Although the causal link between SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and AIH cannot be definitively established,these reports suggest that this association could be more than coincidental.

Albumin-bilirubin score in non-malignant liver diseases should be properly validated

The albumin-bilirubin(ALBI)score to assess the risk of decompensation in patients with initially compensated cirrhosis may improve their prognostic evaluation.This letter critically evaluates the research,which utilizes the ALBI score to forecast decompensation in cirrhosis patients over a three-year period.This score was initially developed to assess liver function in hepatocellular carcinoma,its prognostic utility for non-malignant liver diseases has now been explored,recognizing decompensation as a pivotal event that significantly affects patient’s survival.Some concerns regarding the methodology of this research may be raised,particularly the exclusive use of radiological diagnosis,potentially including patients without definite cirrhosis and thus skewing the decompensation risk assessment.The reported predominance of variceal bleeding as a decompensating event conflicts with established literature,that often reports ascites as the initial decompensation manifestation.The letter highlights the absence of details on esophageal varices and their management,which could introduce bias in evaluating the ALBI score's predictive power.Furthermore,the letter points out the small sample size of patients with high-risk ALBI grades,potentially compromising the score's validity in this context.We suggest prospective future research to investigate the dynamic changes in the ALBI score over time to reinforce the validity of the ALBI score as a predictor of decompensation in non-malignant liver disease.

Diagnostic role of transient elastography in patients with autoimmune liver diseases:A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Noninvasive methods have been developed to detect fibrosis in many liver diseases due to the limits of liver biopsy.However,previous studies have focused primarily on chronic viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.The diagnostic value of transient elastography for autoimmune liver diseases(AILDs)is worth studying.AIM To compare the diagnostic accuracy of imaging techniques with serum biomarkers of fibrosis in AILD.METHODS The PubMed,Cochrane Library and EMBASE databases were searched.Studies evaluating the efficacy of noninvasive methods in the diagnosis of AILDs[autoimmune hepatitis(AIH),primary biliary cholangitis(PBC)and primary sclerosing cholangitis(PSC)]were included.The summary area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUROC),diagnostic odds ratio,sensitivity and specificity were used to assess the accuracy of these noninvasive methods for staging fibrosis.RESULTS A total of 60 articles were included in this study,and the number of patients with AIH,PBC and PSC was 1594,3126 and 501,respectively.The summary AUROC of transient elastography in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis,advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with AIH were 0.84,0.88 and 0.90,respectively,while those in patients with PBC were 0.93,0.93 and 0.91,respectively.The AUROC of cirrhosis for patients with PSC was 0.95.However,other noninvasive indices(aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index,aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio,fibrosis-4 index)had corresponding AUROCs less than 0.80.CONCLUSION Transient elastography exerts better diagnostic accuracy in AILD patients,especially in PBC patients.The appropriate cutoff values for staging advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis ranged from 9.6 to 10.7 and 14.4 to 16.9 KPa for PBC patients.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents in chronic liver diseases:Molecular mechanisms and therapy

Chronic liver disease(CLD)is a continuous process that causes a reduction of liver function lasting more than six months.CLD includes alcoholic liver disease(ALD),non-alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD),chronic viral infection,and autoimmune hepatitis,which can lead to liver fibrosis,cirrhosis,and cancer.Liver inflammation and oxidative stress are commonly associated with the development and progression of CLD.Molecular signaling pathways such as AMPactivated protein kinase(AMPK),C-Jun N-terminal kinase,and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPARs)are implicated in the pathogenesis of CLD.Therefore,antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents from natural products are new potent therapies for ALD,NAFLD,and hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).In this review,we summarize some powerful products that can be potential applied in all the stages of CLD,from ALD/NAFLD to HCC.The selected agents such asβ-sitosterol,curcumin,genistein,and silymarin can regulate the activation of several important molecules,including AMPK,Farnesoid X receptor,nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor-2,PPARs,phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase,and lysyl oxidase-like proteins.In addition,clinical trials are undergoing to evaluate their efficacy and safety.

Collagen matrix scaffolds:Future perspectives for the management of chronic liver diseases

Approximately 1.5 billion chronic liver disease(CLD)cases have been estimated worldwide,encompassing a wide range of liver damage severities.Moreover,liver disease causes approximately 1.75 million deaths per year.CLD is typically characterized by the silent and progressive deterioration of liver parenchyma due to an incessant inflammatory process,cell death,over deposition of extracellular matrix proteins,and dysregulated regeneration.Overall,these processes impair the correct function of this vital organ.Cirrhosis and liver cancer are the main complications of CLD,which accounts for 3.5%of all deaths worldwide.Liver transplantation is the optimal therapeutic option for advanced liver damage.The liver is one of the most common organs transplanted;however,only 10%of liver transplants are successful.In this context,regenerative medicine has made significant progress in the design of biomaterials,such as collagen matrix scaffolds,to address the limitations of organ transplantation(e.g.,low donation rates and biocompatibility).Thus,it remains crucial to continue with experimental and clinical studies to validate the use of collagen matrix scaffolds in liver disease.

Global burden of cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease,1990-2019

BACKGROUND Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD)has become the leading cause of cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases(COCLDs).AIM To conduct a comprehensive and comparable updated analysis of the global,regional,and national burden of COCLDs due to NAFLD in 204 countries and territories from 1990 and 2019 by age,sex,and sociodemographic index.METHODS Data on COCLDs due to NAFLD were collected from the Global Burden of Diseases,Injuries,and Risk Factors Study 2019.Numbers and age-standardized prevalence,death,and disability-adjusted life years(DALYs)were estimated through a systematic analysis of modelled data from the Global Burden of Diseases,Injuries,and Risk Factors Study 2019.The estimated annual percentage change was used to determine the burden trend.RESULTS In 2019,the global age-standardized prevalence rate of COCLDs due to NAFLD was 15022.90 per 100000 population[95%uncertainty interval(UI):13493.19-16764.24],which increased by 24.51%(22.63%to 26.08%)from 1990,with an estimated annual percentage change of 0.78(95%confidence interval:0.74-0.82).In the same year,however,the age-standardized death rate and age-standardized DALYs per 100000 population were 1.66(95%UI:1.20-2.17)and 43.69(95%UI:31.28-58.38),respectively.North Africa and the Middle East had the highest prevalence rates of COCLDs due to NAFLD.The death rate increased with age up to the 95+age group for both sexes.Males had higher numbers of prevalence,death rate,and DALYs than females across all age groups before the 65-69 age group.The sociodemographic index was negatively correlated with the age-standardized DALYs.CONCLUSION Globally,the age-standardized prevalence rate has increased during the past three decades.However,the agestandardized death rate and age-standardized DALYs decreased.There is geographical variation in the burden of COCLDs due to NAFLD.It is strongly recommended to improve the data quality of COCLDs due to NAFLD across all countries and regions to facilitate better monitoring of the burden of COCLDs due to NAFLD.

Shifting perspectives in liver diseases after kidney transplantation

Liver diseases after kidney transplantation range from mild biochemical abnormalities to severe hepatitis or cirrhosis.The causes are diverse and mainly associated with hepatotropic viruses,drug toxicity and metabolic disorders.Over the past decade,the aetiology of liver disease in kidney recipients has changed significantly.These relates to the use of direct-acting antiviral agents against hepatitis C virus,the increasing availability of vaccination against hepatitis B and a better understanding of drug-induced hepatotoxicity.In addition,the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has brought new challenges to kidney recipients.This review aims to provide healthcare professionals with a comprehensive understanding of recent advances in the management of liver complications in kidney recipients and to enable them to make informed decisions regarding the risks and impact of liver disease in this population.

Hypoxia,angiogenesis and liver fibrogenesis in the progression of chronic liver diseases

Angiogenesis is a dynamic,hypoxia-stimulated and growth factor-dependent process,and is currently referred to as the formation of new vessels from preexisting blood vessels.Experimental and clinical studies have unequivocally reported that hepatic angiogenesis,irrespective of aetiology,occurs in conditions of chronic liver diseases(CLDs) characterized by perpetuation of cell injury and death,inflammatory response and progressive fibrogenesis.Angiogenesis and related changes in liver vascular architecture,that in turn concur to increase vascular resistance and portal hypertension and to decrease parenchymal perfusion,have been proposed to favour fibrogenic progression of the disease towards the end-point of cirrhosis.Moreover,hepatic angiogenesis has also been proposed to modulate the genesis of portal-systemic shunts and increase splanchnic blood flow,thus potentially affecting complications of cirrhosis.Hepatic angiogenesis is also crucial for the growth and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.Recent literature has identified a number of cellular and molecular mechanisms governing the cross-talk between angiogenesis and fibrogenesis,with a specifi c emphasis on the crucial role of hypoxic conditions and hepatic stellate cells,particularly when activated to the myofibroblast-like pro-fibrogenic.Experimental anti-angiogenic therapy has been proven to be effective in limiting the progression of CLDs in animal models.From a clinical point of view,anti-angiogenic therapy is currently emerging as a new pharmacologic intervention in patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis.

PTEN in liver diseases and cancer

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN)/Akt axis is a key signal transduction node that regulates crucial cellular functions, including insulin and other growth factors signaling, lipid and glucose metabolism, as well as cell survival and apoptosis. In this pathway, PTEN acts as a phosphoinositide phosphatase, which terminates PI3Kpropagated signaling by dephosphorylating PtdIns(3,4)P2 and PtdIns(3,4,5)P3. However, the role of PTEN does not appear to be restricted only to PI3K signaling antagonism, and new functions have been recently discovered for this protein. In addition to the well-established role of PTEN as a tumor suppressor, increasing evidence now suggests that a dysregulated PTEN expression and/or activity is also linked to the development of several hepatic pathologies. Dysregulated PTEN expression/activity is observed with obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, hepatitis B virus/hepatitis C virus infections, and abusive alcohol consumption, whereas mutations/deletions have also been associated with the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma. Thus, it appears that alterations of PTEN expression and activity in hepatocytes are common and recurrent molecular events associated with liver disorders of various etiologies. These recent f indings suggest that PTEN might represent a potential common therapeutic target for a number of liver pathologies.

Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases:Implementation in clinical practice and decisional algorithms

Chronic hepatitis B and C together with alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases represent the major causes of progressive liver disease that can eventually evolve into cirrhosis and its end-stage complications,including decompensation,bleeding and liver cancer.Formation and accumulation of fibrosis in the liver is the common pathway that leads to an evolutive liver disease.Precise definition of liver fibrosis stage is essential for management of the patient in clinical practice since the presence of bridging fibrosis represents a strong indication for antiviral therapy for chronic viral hepatitis,while cirrhosis requires a specif ic follow-up including screening for esophageal varices and hepatocellular carcinoma.Liver biopsy has always represented the standard of reference for assessment of hepatic fibrosis but it has some limitations being invasive,costly and prone to sampling errors.Recently,blood markers and instrumental methods have been proposed for the non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis.However,there are still some doubts as to their implementation in clinical practice and a real consensus on how and when to use them is not still available.This is due to an unsatisfactory accuracy for some of them,and to an incomplete validation for others.Some studies suggest that performance of non-invasive methods for liver fibrosis assessment may increase when they are combined.Combination algorithms of non-invasive methods for assessing liver fibrosis may represent a rational and reliable approach to implement non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in clinical practice and to reduce rather than abolish liver biopsies.

Epidemiological and histopathological study of relevance of Guizhou Maotai liquor and liver diseases

AIM: To explore the relevance of Maotai liquor and liver diseases. METHODS: Epidemiological study was conducted on groups of subjects, each consisting of 3 subjects from the Maotai liquor group consisting of 99 individuals and one from the non-alcoholic control group consisting of 33 individuals. Liver biopsy was performed on 23 volunteers from Guizhou Maotai Distillery who had a constant and long history of drinking Maotai liquor. Experimental histopathological study was conducted as follows: sixty male Wistar rats were divided into 3 groups randomly and fed with Maotai liquor, ordinary white wine, and physiological saline respectively for a period of 8 and 12 weeks. The rats were sacrificed in batches, then serum ALT, AST, TBil, and AKP were measured. Rat livers were harvested to measure the liver indexes, GSH, and MDA. Histopathological examinations were also performed. Another eighty mice were randomly divided into 4 groups and fed with Maotai (at different dosages of 10 ml.kg(-1) and 20 ml.kg(-1)), ethanol, and physiological saline. The animals were sacrificed after 4 weeks and serum ALT was determined. Then the livers were harvested and liver indexes and MDA were measured. RESULTS: The incidence rate of hepatic symptoms, splenomegaly, liver function impairment, reversal of Albumin/Globulin and increased diameter of portal veins in the Maotai liquor group were 1.0% 1/99 , 1.0% 1/99 , 1.0% 1/99 , 1.0% 1/99 , 0 0/99 and 0 0/99 , 0 0/99 ,0 0/99 , 0 0/99 , 0 0/99 , respectively. There was no significant difference between the Maotai group and the non-alcoholic control group P】0.05 . Various degree of fatty infiltration of hepatocytes was found in the 23 volunteers receiving liver biopsy, but there was no obvious hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis. A comparison was made between the Maotai liquor group and the ordinary white wine group. It was found that hepatic MDA in rats and mice were 0.33+/-0.10 and 0.49+/-0.23 respectively in Maotai group and 0.61+/-0.22 and 0.66+/-0.32 in the ordinary white wine group; MDA had an obvious decrease in the Maotai liquor group (P【0.05); hepatic GSH were 0.12 mg.g(-1)+/-0.06 mg.g(-1) in rats of the Maotai liquor group and (0.08+/-0.02)mg.g(-1) in white wine group, it was obviously increased in the Maotai liquor group (P【0.05). After the 20 rats had been fed with ordinary white wine for 8 weeks consecutively, disarranged hepatocyte cords, fatty infiltration of hepatocytes, and fibrous septa of varying widths due to hepatic connective tissues proliferation were observed; after 12 weeks, the fibrous tissue proliferation continued and early cirrhosis appeared. Compared with the ordinary white wine group, fatty infiltration was observed in the 8-week and 12-week groups, but no necrosis or fibrosis or cirrhosis was found in the Maotai liquor group (P【0.05). CONCLUSION: Maotai liquor may cause fatty liver but not hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis, and it can strengthen lipid peroxidation in the liver.

New insight of vitamin D in chronic liver diseases

BACKGROUND： Vitamin D is a fat-soluble sterol derivative that is predominantly synthesized in the liver and has multiple functions. The accumulative data showed that the clinical manifestations and prognosis of chronic liver diseases are associated with serum vitamin D levels. DATA SOURCES： A PubMed and Google Scholar search using terms： ＂vitamin D＂, ＂25 （OH）D＂, ＂liver disease＂, ＂viral hepatitis＂, ＂non-alcoholic fatty liver disease＂, ＂liver fibrosis＂, ＂cirrhosis＂, ＂hepatocellular carcinoma＂ and ＂autoimmune liver disease＂ was performed, and relevant articles published in English between January 2000 and March 2014 were reviewed. Fulb text publications relevant to the field were selected and relevant articles from reference lists were also included. RESULTS： The insufficiency or deficiency of vitamin D is common in various kinds of chronic liver diseases including viral hepatitis B and C. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and vitamin D receptors are possibly interrelated with the incidence, treatment and prognosis of diseases. Though the evidence of vitamin D supplementation in viral hepatitis and associated liver diseases is still limited, there is great potential to apply this adjuvant therapy to improve the treatments. CONCLUSIONS： Although the exact role and mechanisms of vitamin D have not been fully elucidated in chronic liver diseases, it is potentially beneficial in the treatment of chronic liver diseases. Further mechanistic studies are needed to validate its clinical application.

Role of bile acids in liver diseases mediated by the gut microbiome

The intensive crosstalk between the liver and the intestine performs many essential functions.This crosstalk is important for natural immune surveillance,adaptive immune response regulation and nutrient metabolism and elimination of toxic bacterial metabolites.The interaction between the gut microbiome and bile acids is bidirectional.The gut microbiome regulates the synthesis of bile acids and their biological signaling activity and circulation via enzymes.Similarly,bile acids also shape the composition of the gut microbiome by modulating the host’s natural antibacterial defense and the intestinal immune system.The interaction between bile acids and the gut microbiome has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many intestinal and extra intestinal diseases,especially liver diseases.As essential mediators of the gut-liver crosstalk,bile acids regulate specific host metabolic pathways and modulate the inflammatory responses through farnesoid X-activated receptor and G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1.Several clinical trials have demonstrated the signaling effects of bile acids in the context of liver diseases.We hypothesize the existence of a gut microbiome-bile acids-liver triangle and explore the potential therapeutic strategies for liver diseases targeting the triangle.