Hepatocyte senescence in alcohol-associated hepatitis: epiphenomenon or disease-driving mechanism?

Alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is a severe clinical syndrome within the spectrum of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), characterised by acute-onset jaundice, systemic inflammation and liver dysfunction in individuals with chronic excessive alcohol use and underlying chronic liver disease in most of the cases. The prognosis of AH is poor, and effective therapeutic options besides corticosteroid therapy are scarce.1 There are few studies evaluating the histological changes that occur in the liver following an episode of AH. While it is known that some patients experience improvement with abstinence and medical management, the specific histopathological and molecular evolution remains poorly explored.2 The assessment of post-AH liver biopsies could provide valuable insights into mechanisms of fibrosis regression, resolution of inflammation and persistence of liver injury, and provide the needed information to identify potential therapeutic strategies to promote liver recovery. In Gut , Rodrigo-Torres et al performed bulk RNA sequencing on a cohort …