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World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2021; 13(8): 879-886
Published online Aug 27, 2021. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v13.i8.879
Pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatitis
Jun-Hua Fan, Geng-Feng Liu, Xiao-Dan Lv, Rui-Zhi Zeng, Ling-Ling Zhan, Xiao-Ping Lv
Jun-Hua Fan, Geng-Feng Liu, Rui-Zhi Zeng, Xiao-Ping Lv, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Xiao-Dan Lv, Ling-Ling Zhan, Department of Clinical Experimental Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Fan JH, Lv XD, Zeng RZ and Liu GF collected the data; Fan JH, Zhan LL and Lv XP designed the study and wrote the paper; all authors approved the final version.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81860120 and No. 81860104; Guangxi Natural Science Foundation, No. 2017GXNSFBA198134, No. 2017GXNSFAA198299 and No. 2015GXNSFCA139024; and Development and Application of Medical and Health Appropriate Technology Project in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, No. S2018049.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors do not have any commercial or other associations that might pose a conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Ping Lv, PhD, Chairman, Chief Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, No. 6 Shuangyong Road, Nanning 530021, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. lxxp58@hotmail.com
Received: February 24, 2021
Peer-review started: February 24, 2021
First decision: May 3, 2021
Revised: May 15, 2021
Accepted: August 2, 2021
Article in press: August 2, 2021
Published online: August 27, 2021
Processing time: 176 Days and 17.6 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) has no specific clinical manifestations. AIH patients often require steroid hormones plus immunosuppressive maintenance therapy. Long-term medication may cause various adverse reactions, complications, and relapse after drug withdrawal, which imposes a heavy burden on patient's health and quality of life. Although the exact pathogenesis of AIH is still unclear, there are multiple theories, and continuous in-depth research on its pathogenesis has led to development in treatment of AIH. Genetic susceptibility, environmental factors (viruses, parasites, pets, etc.), immune system, drugs and biological agents, pregnancy and liver transplantation have been reported to be associated with AIH.