At present, hepatic encephalopathy has a relatively high mortality and thus greatly affects patients’ quality of life. This article describes the changes of intestinal flora in patients with hepatic encephalopathy and analyzes the mechanism of action of intestinal flora in hepatic encephalopathy and related treatment methods. It is pointed out that the development of hepatic encephalopathy is closely associated with intestinal flora, and clinical treatment by regulating intestinal flora has achieved a marked effect in patients with hepatic encephalopathy. In the future, the research on intestinal flora in patients with hepatic encephalopathy can be deepened to provide better regimens for the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.

As a novel form of programmed cell death different from cell necrosis, apoptosis, and autophagy discovered in recent years, pyroptosis is characterized by cell membrane rupture and release of cell contents and proinflammatory factors mediated by gasdermin, thus leading to cell death. Pyroptosis signaling pathways can be classified into classical pathways dependent on caspase-1 and non-classical pathways dependent on caspase-4/5/11; the activation of caspase-1 in classical pathways depends on the function of inflammasome, while the direct activation of caspase-4/5/11 is observed in non-classical pathways, which leads to the lysis of gasdermin D and induce the formation of membrane pores, the maturation and release of interleukin-1β and interleukin-18, and the rupture of cell membrane to cause pyroptosis. Latest research has shown that pyroptosis plays an important role in the development and progression of chronic liver diseases. This article introduces the mechanism of pyroptosis and summarizes the role of pyroptosis in the development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, in order to provide new ideas and methods for the prevention and treatment of liver diseases in clinical practice.

Lysyl oxidase (LOX) family is a group of copper-containing amine oxidases composed of LOX and LOX-like proteins (LOXL1, LOXL2, LOXL3, and LOXL4). It is overexpressed in tumor tissue and promotes tumor metastasis through covalent cross-linking of extracellular matrix, with the functions of cell growth control, tumor inhibition, senescence, and chemotaxis. In recent years, more and more evidence has shown that LOX family members play a key role in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), suggesting that they have great potential as therapeutic targets. This article reviews the role of LOX family members in the development and progression of HCC and the intervention effect of traditional Chinese medicine extracts on HCC by regulating LOX family, in order to provide a reference for further research on the prevention and treatment of HCC.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a life-threatening disease with a high risk of multiple organ failure, sepsis, and death. ACLF activates innate and acquired immune responses in human body and thus leads to the progression of persistent systemic inflammatory response syndrome and multiple organ dysfunction, leading to the high mortality rate of this disease. Dysregulated immune response plays a key role in disease progression, and immunotherapy may help to target immune-mediated organ damage and inhibit the progression of liver failure. This article reviews the role and mechanism of drugs and means with a potential immune regulatory effect in ACLF, in order to provide a reference for immunotherapy for ACLF.

The development and progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have complex potential mechanisms. The traditional “two-hit” pathophysiological theory has been challenged, and in recent years, an increasing number of studies have been performed to investigate the interaction between insulin resistance, adipokines, and other unknown pathogenic factors in various organs. This article summarizes the factors of the liver, intestinal tract, hypothalamus, and extracellular cysts, as well as genetic factors, with an emphasis on the synergistic mechanism of action of the liver and extrahepatic organs in the pathogenesis of NAFLD, in order to provide a reference for obtaining new insights into NAFLD regulatory network and determining new targets for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

The incidence rate of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing. Diet is considered one of the main driving forces regulating the composition of intestinal microbiota, and the intestine and the liver are closely linked through the portal vein, so changes in gut microbiota may affect liver function and promote inflammation, insulin resistance, and steatosis, thereby causing NAFLD. This article elaborates on the relationship between diet, gut microbiota, and the liver and the research advances in how this axis promotes the progression of NAFLD, as well as the change in potential mechanism due to intestinal dysbacteriosis and related treatment methods.

【Objective】 To determine the best collection time period of plasma which can be used for human COVID-19 immunoglobulin for intravenous injection through SARS-CoV-2-IgG change and neutralizing antibody distribution against different virus strain in representative mixed plasma before and after Omicron strain infection by ELISA and pseudovirus neutralization test. 【Methods】 An ELISA method for quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2-IgG was established and its linear range,accuracy and precision was verified. SARS-CoV-2-IgG potency was detected in 25 convalescent plasma which were collected 20-40 days after confirmed Omicron infection, two groups of mixed plasma samples WP1 and WP2 were prepared according to the SARS-CoV-2-IgG results, and pseudovirus neutralization experiments with different virus strain (prototype strain, BA. 1,BA.2, BA.4/5, BF.7, BQ.1.1) were carried out to determine the distribution of neutralizing antibodies against different virus strain. SARS-CoV-2-IgG potency of representative mixed plasma collected from 14 plasma stations subordinate to the company before and after Omicron strain infection was detected, including Omicron convalescent plasma (OP) collected from different plasma stations from December 2022 to May 2023 and normal pool plasma (VN) feed in March 2023 which collected from March 2022 to December 2022. According to the results, the difference and the change rule with time of SARS-CoV-2-IgG before and after Omicron strain infection were analyzed. 【Results】 The linearity of SARS-CoV-2-IgG ranged from 6.25 to 200 EIU/mL, the accuracy in-batch ranged from 81.793% to 106.985%, the precision in-batch ranged from 1. 100% to 13.000%, and the total error in-batch ranged from 2.988% to 22.679%. The accuracy between batches ranged from 90.788%to 96.893%, the precision between batches ranged from 4.870% to 6.272%, and the total error between batches ranged from 9.192% to 15.399%. The results of pseudovirus neutralizing antibody showed that the potency of different virus strain neutralizing antibodies were in the order of prototype strain>BA.2>BA.4/5>BF.7≈ BQ.1.1>BA.1 and the correlation between WP1 and WP2 was high (Pearson r=0. 931 1, P=0.002 3) which indicated that the potency distribution of neutralizing antibodies of different virus strain in Omicron convalescent plasma was basically stable. Compared with the mixed convalescent plasma sample G128 collected in June 2022, the potency of Omicron neutralizing antibodies of WP series were significantly higher, the ratio of BA.2 antibody to prototype antibody increased from 26.9% (before infection) to 82.6%-87.5% (after infection). The results of VN series before Omicron infection were < 100 EIU/mL, and the results of OP series after Omicron infection showed that the plasma collected from the beginning of December 2022 was the peak of antibody in the same month,and then dropped sharply, entering a short plateau in February-March 2023 (potency was about 40% of the peak value),and then dropped sharply again in April (potency was about 20% of the peak value). 【Conclusion】 The potency and proportion of neutralizing antibody against Omicron subtype in convalescent plasma after COVID-19 Omicron strain infection increased significantly. IgG antibody of plasma donors in different regions reached its peak in the month of infection, then continued to dropped sharply. The best collection period of plasma that can be used for human COVID-19 immunoglobulin for intravenous injection was 1 to 2 months after infection.