Primary sclerosing cholangitis and the microbiota: current knowledge and perspectives on etiopathogenesis and emerging therapies.

ABSTRACT: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, fibroinflammatory, cholestatic liver disease of unknown etiopathogenesis. PSC generally progresses to liver cirrhosis, is a major risk factor for hepatobiliary and colonic neoplasia, and confers a median survival to death or liver transplantation of only 12 years. Although it is well recognized that approximately 75% of patients with PSC also have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the significance of this association remains elusive. Accumulating evidence now suggests a potentially important role for the intestinal microbiota, and enterohepatic circulation of molecules derived therefrom, as a putative mechanistic link between PSC and IBD and a central pathobiological driver of PSC. In this concise review, we provide a summary of and perspe

SUBMITTER: Tabibian JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4210190 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature