A small RNA in neutrophils protects against acute-on-chronic alcoholic liver injury

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is a major cause of chronic liver injury worldwide.1 2 Clinically, jaundice and liver failure are hallmark presentations of patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis (AH) who typically have been drinking up to the time of admission or have stopped drinking within 4–6 weeks of their presentation of symptoms. The liver histology of AH has features of steatohepatitis, hepatic neutrophil infiltration, cholestasis and florid inflammation.3 Among patients with ALD, liver-related mortality is much higher in patients with AH than those with only simple steatosis.3 Current recommended treatments for AH include corticosteroids or pentoxifylline and nutritional supplements, but they only have moderate therapeutic effects.3 A major barrier preventing drug development against AH is our lack of understanding of the regulatory pathways involved in the pathogenesis of AH despite decades of research on ALD. One reason for this knowledge...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research