Changes in intestinal microbiota and application of probiotics in patients with acute pancreatitis / 临床肝胆病杂志

Intestinal microbiota is the most complex and important microecosystem in the human body， and gut microbiota dysbiosis is closely associated with the development and progression of acute pancreatitis. Targeted regulation of intestinal microecology in assisting the treatment of acute pancreatitis has attracted more attention in recent years. This article describes the changes in intestinal microbiota and related mechanisms in patients with acute pancreatitis， summarizes the current research status of the use of probiotics， points out the research direction of probiotics as the adjuvant treatment regime， and proposes a new method for predicting the dominant flora in patients with acute pancreatitis， in order to bring new ideas for the treatment of acute pancreatitis.

Expanded circulating peripheral helper T cells in primary biliary cholangitis: Tph cells in PBC.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral helper T (TPH) cells, a recently defined subset of Th cells, promote B cell differentiation and antibody production in inflamed tissues. This study investigated whether circulating TPH cells are associated with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a typical organ-specific autoimmune disease. METHODS: Twenty PBC patients and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The circulating TPH cell subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the associations of TPH cells with disease activity and plasma cells were determined. Functional analysis was performed using a TPH and B cell coculture experiment. RESULTS: The frequencies of circulating TPH cells, ICOS+ TPH cells, and CD28+ TPH cells were increased in patients with PBC. Furthermore, the ICOS+ TPH cell level was higher in PBC patients with or without cirrhosis than in HCs, and the level decreased after treatment. Moreover, ICOS+ TPH cell levels correlated positively with specific clinical parameters (including anti-mitochondrial antibodies against M2 antigen (AMA-M2), IgM) and plasma cell levels, suggesting that the TPH cell activation status is associated with the severity of PBC. Coculture results revealed an enhanced ability of TPH cells from PBC patients to induce B cell differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated numbers of TPH cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of PBC, and the activation status of TPH cells is related to the severity of PBC. Additionally, TPH cells can be used as a useful biomarker for evaluating the progression of PBC and may serve as a therapeutic target for PBC patients in the future.

Advances in the treatment of liver cirrhosis with portal vein thrombosis / 临床肝胆病杂志

Portal vein thrombosis (PVT) is one of the most common complications of liver cirrhosis. Due to coagulation disorder and the risk of bleeding in liver cirrhosis, there are many controversies over the treatment of liver cirrhosis with PVT in clinical practice. Common therapies for PVT include anticoagulant therapy, intervention, and thrombolysis. This article elaborates on the current status of the treatment of liver cirrhosis with PVT, in order to provide help for the development of standard and reasonable clinical treatment strategies.

Current status of research on the prognostic markers for acute-on-chronic liver failure / 临床肝胆病杂志

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a syndrome characterized by multiple organ failure and high short-term mortality rate, and it has always been a research hotspot in the field of severe liver diseases. Therefore, early and accurate risk stratification and timely intervention are of great significance to improve prognosis. This article summarizes the serum biomarkers identified in recent years for evaluating the prognosis of patients with ACLF, and it is pointed out that new serum biomarkers have an important guiding significance in the prognostic evaluation of ACLF patients.