Published online Oct 27, 2018. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v10.i10.662
Peer-review started: April 10, 2018
First decision: May 17, 2018
Revised: July 26, 2018
Accepted: August 1, 2018
Article in press: August 1, 2018
Published online: October 27, 2018
The complement system is a key component of the body’s immune system. When abnormally activated, this system can induce inflammation and damage to normal tissues and participate in the development and progression of a variety of diseases. In the past, many scholars believed that alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is induced by the stress of ethanol on liver cells, including oxidative stress and dysfunction of mitochondria and protease bodies, causing hepatocyte injury and apoptosis. Recent studies have shown that complement activation is also involved in the genesis and development of ALD. This review focuses on the roles of complement activation in ALD and of therapeutic intervention in complement-activation pathways. We intend to provide new ideas on the diagnosis and treatment of ALD.
Core tip: In this review, we cited evidence that the complement system is involved in the pathogenesis of each stage of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) that include fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and fibrosis/cirrhosis, and we also summarized the complement regulation in ALD. We intend to provide new ideas on the treatment of ALD.