Cholangiocytes are highly specialised cells participating in the pathobiology of various liver diseases and recognised to play a crucial role in response to liver injury. Cholangiocytes exhibit dramatic heterogeneity and plasticity, with distinct subtypes performing disparate functions during liver injury and regeneration. Acting as the liver progenitor cells, cholangiocytes can also convert to hepatocytes in the context of impaired hepatocyte proliferation. Harnessing the intrinsic regenerative ability of cholangiocytes is of great importance to alleviate liver injury and promote cholangiocyte-driven liver regeneration. Clinically, cholangiocytes and cholangiocyte organoids are expected to serve as favourable sources for cell therapy in cholangiopathies, which are known as a group of complex diseases involving the biliary system while lacking effective therapeutic options. A comprehensive understanding of the biological characteristics of cholangiocytes provides insights into developing cholangiocyte cell therapy for cholangiopathies. In this review, we discuss the critical role of cholangiocytes in liver injury and regeneration, reveal the underlying mechanism of cholangiocyte plasticity, and explore the prospects and challenges of using cholangiocytes as a source for cell therapy.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterised by intestinal dysbiosis. While inflammation-induced leakage of host proteins is a known phenomenon in CD, how these proteins affect the gut microbiota and contribute to dysbiosis remains unclear. One hypothesis is that commensal bacteria hijack these proteins, exacerbating inflammation in CD.

In 1998, Arlette Darfeuille-Michaud, Christel Neut and Jean-Frederic Colombel discovered a novel pathovar of Escherichia coli, adherent and invasive Escherichia coli (AIEC), in the ileum of patients with Crohn's disease (CD), that was genetically distinct from diarrheagenic E. coli, could adhere to and invade intestinal epithelial cells and survive in macrophages. The consistent association between AIEC and CD (approximately 30% across the world), their ability to exploit CD-associated genetic traits, and virulence in preclinical colitis models but not healthy hosts spurred global research to elucidate their pathogenicity. Research focused on integrating AIEC with the microbiome, metabolome, metagenome, host response and the impact of diet and antimicrobials has linked the luminal microenvironment and AIEC metabolism to health and disease. This deeper understanding has led to therapeutic trials and precision medicine targeting AIEC-colonised patients. In November 2023, prominent members of the AIEC research community met to present and discuss the many facets of basic, translational and clinical AIEC fields at 'AIEC: past, present and future' in NYC. This review is a summary of this international meeting highlighting the history of AIEC, knowledge accumulated over the past 25 years about its pathogenic properties and proposes a standardised approach for screening patients for AIEC.

Current treatments with tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors have limited efficacy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) due to drug resistance. Emerging therapies such as chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) and macrophage-based cell therapies are promising but need to be improved.

Helicobacter pylori infection is the most prevalent bacterial infection worldwide. Attempts to develop a vaccine have not been successful, partly due to the absence of well-defined immune correlates of protection. The inflammatory response to H. pylori infection is characterised by the recruitment of T cells expressing markers of tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells to the gastric mucosa. However, the function of TRM cells in gastric tissue during H. pylori reinfection remained poorly understood.

Endoscopic procedures are a notable source of medical waste, contributing significantly to environmental pollution. Prior studies report 0.5-3.0 kg of waste per procedure-compared with just 1.2 kg of household waste generated per person per day in Germany.

Pancreatic cancer exhibits limited clinical responses to immunotherapy, highlighting the need for new strategies to counteract its immunosuppressive microenvironment. Although metabolic reprogramming and epigenetic changes contribute to malignancy, the impact of lactate-driven histone lactylation on the tumour microenvironment (TME) has not been fully explored.

Patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with indeterminate phase make up a diverse cohort with likely different outcomes.

Prophylactic clip closure after endoscopic mucosal resection reduces delayed bleeding in large and proximal colon lesions; however, evidence regarding its effectiveness in colorectal endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is lacking.

The gut microbiota has been linked to non-communicable diseases, including chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the relationships between gut microbiome composition changes, uraemic toxins (UTs) accumulation, and diet on CKD severity and progression remain underexplored.