Mechanism of action of estrogen deficiency in autoimmune hepatitis via the intestinal barrier

VernacularTitle:雌激素缺乏通过肠道屏障影响自身免疫性肝炎的作用机制
Author: Mingzhu SONG ¹ ; Ling LI ¹ ; Jinxia ZHU ² ; Shu ZHANG ² ; Guangwei LIU ²
Author Information

1. Third Ward of Spleen， Stomach and Hepatobiliary Department， The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450000， China
2. Department of Liver Diseases， Longhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Shanghai 200032， China
Publication Type:Review
Keywords: Estrogens; Intestinal Barrier Function; Hepatitis， Autoimmune
From: Journal of Clinical Hepatology 2026;42(2):438-444
CountryChina
Language:Chinese
Abstract: Autoimmune hepatitis （AIH） is an immune-mediated chronic liver inflammatory disease with unknown pathogenesis， and intestinal barrier dysfunction is considered an important factor. Meanwhile， there are sex and age differences in the incidence rate of AIH， suggesting that hormone may be involved in regulation. On this basis， this article focuses on the association between estrogen， intestinal barrier， and immune homeostasis， systematically reviews the evidence that estrogen deficiency disrupts intestinal barrier homeostasis， and further summarizes the potential mechanism of estrogen in regulating the development and progression of AIH via intestinal barrier.