Reviews & Analysis

In a new study, cryopreserved human hepatocytes retrieved from livers deemed unsuitable for transplantation were thawed and encapsulated into alginate microbeads and then infused into the peritoneal cavity of a group of children with acute liver failure who were awaiting liver transplantation.

Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) aims to restore an altered microbiota and has been suggested as a potential treatment option for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), among other diseases. A new study suggests that the use of a so-called superdonor is necessary to successfully treat patients with IBS using FMT.

A novel MRI gadolinium-based contrast agent designed to bind with collagen, a key component in liver fibrosis progression, provides direct quantification of collagen deposition in several preclinical liver disease models. This tool could have large implications in clinical diagnosis and drug trials.

Cancer therapies, in addition to inducing cell death, can trigger cellular senescence of tumour cells, and factors secreted from senescent cells might negatively affect the tumour microenvironment. A new study by Wang et al. shows that eradication of therapy-induced senescent cells (senolysis) can improve the outcome of liver cancer therapy.

A new study has identified an intestinal stem cell population involved in epithelial regeneration upon injury in mice and provided an in vitro tool with which to characterize the recurrent damage–repair mechanisms affecting chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease.

Live biotherapeutics have been used clinically both as defined probiotics and as undefined faecal microbiota transplants. Two new studies illustrate the risks of administering live microorganisms to highly compromised patients. These risks should be considered in the context of the potential therapeutic value of these treatments.

A new study demonstrates a novel role for an endocannabinoid in promoting hepatocyte steatosis. The study describes a mode of bidirectional communication between the alcohol-injured hepatocyte and the glutamate-activated hepatic stellate cell. This intercellular communication represents a novel targetable pathogenic mechanism that could lead to new strategies to prevent fatty liver disease progression to cirrhosis.

A new study reveals that a novel serotonin sensor in the spore-forming gut bacteria, Turicibacter sanguinis, might be important for host lipid and steroid metabolism. These findings support the emerging concept that bidirectional signalling pathways can influence bacterial community structure and exert effects on host physiology.

A new study is the first to investigate the relationship between liver-enriched antimicrobial peptide-2 (LEAP2) and different metabolic states, and highlights the reciprocal relationship between LEAP2 and ghrelin (known as the ‘hunger hormone’ for its role in stimulating appetite). These findings could have important implications given the worldwide increase in obesity since 1975.

Screening and early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer are at the focal point of attention from researchers, physicians and patients. A new systematic review and recommendation statement by the USPSTF attempt to summarize the current state of affairs.

Whether to administer purgative cleansing and oral antibiotics before colon surgery as a method to prevent postoperative infections, once standard of care, is now being considered unnecessary with today’s advancements of care. A new study questions the efficacy of this bowel preparation approach with a prospective randomized trial.

Living donor liver transplantation is a proven option for end-stage liver disease. In a new study, a pioneering multi-organ transplantation programme in Canada critically reviews the motivations and facilitators of anonymous adult living liver donors over a 12-year period, providing insights into how we can push forward ethical living organ donation for transplantation.

During the metastatic process, cancer cells spread from the primary tumour to distant organs. Although metastases are the primary cause of cancer mortality, the dynamics of the metastatic process remain largely unknown. A new study suggests that during colorectal cancer progression, metastatic seeding might occur before clinical detectability.

Multi-omics technologies in gut microbiome research provide a global view of changes in genetic, metabolic and biochemical processes. This approach has now been applied to the gut microbiota in the context of IBD, providing first steps towards a functional understanding of host–microbe interactions during disease pathogenesis.

A new study has added valuable outcome data from adolescents 5 years after undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. By comparing outcomes from adolescents and adults, the study adds to the existing evidence base, highlighting metabolic and bariatric surgery as an increasingly valuable tool in the multidisciplinary management of adolescents with severe obesity.

A new study involving integrative genomic and transcriptomic analysis of dual hepatocellular–intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma tumours has identified distinct subtypes that display different clinical and molecular features, and that could be used to guide therapeutic decisions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to change many aspects of health-care practice. Two newly published trials explore the potential applications of AI to improve polyp detection and mucosal visualization in gastrointestinal endoscopy — both show the benefits of AI to improve detection in gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Telephone or web-based psychotherapy has been suggested to be as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy while lowering access restrictions and improving patient acceptability. A large new study in patients with IBS shows the superiority of such an approach in comparison with treatment as usual.

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) has been linked to common gastrointestinal symptoms; yet its precise definition remains elusive. A new study shows that, when it comes to symptom prediction in functional gastrointestinal disorders, high-throughput sequencing analysis of the microbiome and not jejunal aspiration and culture is the clear winner.

Single-cell RNA profiling of colonic epithelial crypts from healthy volunteers and patients with ulcerative colitis adds pH-regulating colonocytes and goblet cells expressing a major determinant of barrier maintenance to the current arsenal of uncovered colonic epithelial cell types.