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Volume 42 Issue 4
Apr.  2026
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Article Navigation >  Journal of Clinical Hepatology  > 2026  >  42(4): 957-964

Roles and mechanism of bile acids and gut microbiota in primary biliary cholangitis

DOI: 10.12449/JCH260427

  • Department of Laboratory Medicine，The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University，Kunming 650101，China

Research funding:

National Natural Science Foundation of China (82060385);

National Natural Science Foundation of China (82560413);

General Project of the Joint Special Program between Kunming Medical University and Yunnan Provincial Basic Research Plan (202201AY070001-099)

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  • Corresponding author: TAI Wenlin， taiwenlin@kmmu.edu.cn （ORCID： 0000-0002-8278-929X）
  • Received Date: 2025-06-21
  • Accepted Date: 2025-10-27
  • Published Date: 2026-04-25
    Abstract
  • Primary biliary cholangitis （PBC） is a cholestatic autoimmune liver disease characterized by the injury of small intrahepatic bile ducts， and at present， the pathogenesis of PBC remains unclear. Recent studies have shown that bile acid metabolism disorder and gut microbiota imbalance play a key role in the development and progression of PBC， and they form a complex and dynamic interaction network via the “gut-liver axis” and regulate core physiopathological processes such as immune response， metabolic homeostasis， and inflammatory response in a synergistic manner. This article systematically elaborates on the abnormal features of bile acid metabolism and gut microbiota in PBC， discusses their synergistic mechanisms in PBC， and then proposes a combined strategy of targeting bile acid receptors and modulating gut microbiota， in order to overcome the limitations of current treatment modalities and provide new insights and directions for the clinical management of PBC.

     

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