Special Issue on “Gut-Liver Axis in Liver Diseases”

Gut and liver are anatomically and functionally related each other. Increasing clinical evidence indicates that dysbiosis and intestinal barrier dysfunction are closely associated with various liver diseases including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), cholestatic liver diseases, primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) and drug-induced liver injury (DILI). On the other hand, cirrhosis and hepatic inflammation affect the microbiota, bile acid metabolism and intestinal nutrient absorption, leading to impairment of the intestinal barrier function. Despite significant advances in the understanding of the close association of gut and liver in various diseases, effective therapeutic options are lacking due to incomplete understanding of the role of gut microbiota in regulating host metabolism and immunity status and how hepatic injury and cirrhosis affect the microbiota.   

As guest editors, we would like to invite investigators in the fields of hepatology, gastroenterology, pathology, pharmacology, microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology to contribute review articles or original research articles to this special issue.  We are particularly interested in articles that will provide new insights into the role of the gut-liver axis in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases and stimulate the continuing efforts to develop novel therapeutic strategies by targeting the gut microbiome and signaling pathways of bile acid receptors for NALFD/NASH, ALD, DILI, PSC, PBC as well as gastrointestinal diseases.

Potential topics could include, but are not limited to:

• Role of gut microbiota in the development of NAFLD/NASH
• Gut microbiota and bile acids in cholestatic liver diseases
• Gut microbiota and bile acids in ALD
• Gut microbiota and bile acids in pediatric cholestasis
• Effect of bariatric surgery on gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism
• The role of bile acid receptors in regulating gastrointestinal function
• Bile acids and chronic liver diseases
• Autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum stress in dysbiosis and liver diseases
• The influence of circadian rhythms on gut microbiota and bile acid metabolism
• Targeting gut microbiota for the treatment of chronic liver diseases
• Development of novel, diagnostic biomarkers for chronic liver diseases

Article deadline:  November 30, 2018

Lead Guest Editor:   Dr. Huiping Zhou (Virginia Commonwealth University);

Guest Editors:           Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Dr. Grace Guo (Rutgers University, NJ, USA)

Manuscripts should be submitted online at “https://www.evise.com/profile/api/navigate/LR/login” after registration for login.  Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on line (http://www. keaipublishing.com/en/journals/ liver-research/guide-for-authors). Please visit page before submitting a manuscript.  Please give an indication of “submission to Prof. Zhou’s special issue” when submitting your article.

Liver Research is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed English journal that publishes reviews, editorials, and original articles describing novel developments covering all aspects of liver and biliary sciences on a quarterly basis.

Currently, there is no submission fee.  In addition, the corresponding author will receive $1500 Honorium if the submitted manuscript is published in 2018.