Gut Microbiota: Implications in Pathogenesis and Potential Therapeutic Target in Primary Biliary Cholangitis (IMAGE)
Caption
Primary biliary cholangitis is a chronic autoimmune liver disease. In recent years, gut microbiota dysbiosis has emerged as a key research focus in PBC. This review summarizes how gut microbiota contributes to PBC progression through immune dysregulation, intestinal barrier disruption, and BA metabolism disorders. These processes activate inflammatory signaling pathways in BECs, accelerating bile duct injury and ultimately leading to cholestasis and hepatic fibrosis. With advances in microbiomics and metabolomics, the gut microbiome analyzed via fecal samples as a non-invasive biomarker can assess disease severity and prognosis and predict responses to drug therapy. This helps clinicians initiate comprehensive treatments early. Meanwhile, therapies targeting microbial composition are becoming a highly promising research direction. Whether via oral probiotics, bacteriophage therapy, or FMT, clinical trials are needed to validate efficacy and safety. It is hoped that gut microbiota-targeted therapies will soon play a unique role in both monotherapy and combination treatments.
Credit
Yida Yang, Yu Shi, Ying Nie
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Credit must be given to the creator. Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
License
CC BY-NC