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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 21, 2025; 31(43): 111976
Published online Nov 21, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i43.111976
Published online Nov 21, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i43.111976
Peripheral blood lymphocyte subset deficiency in acute-on-chronic liver failure and reconstitution following liver transplantation
Bo Peng, Min Yang, Kai Liu, Xu-Yu Xiang, Ying Zhang, Jun-Hui Li, Peng-Peng Zhang, Quan Zhuang, Ke Cheng, Ying-Zi Ming, Transplantation Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Bo Peng, Min Yang, Kai Liu, Xu-Yu Xiang, Ying Zhang, Jun-Hui Li, Peng-Peng Zhang, Quan Zhuang, Ke Cheng, Ying-Zi Ming, Key Laboratory of Translational Research on Transplantation Medicine of National Health Commission, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Zhi-Xin Li, Department of General Surgery, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China
Co-first authors: Bo Peng and Zhi-Xin Li.
Author contributions: Peng B, Liu K, Xiang XY, Zhang Y, Li JH, and Zhang PP collected the data; Peng B and Li ZX performed the data analysis and prepared the manuscript; Li ZX generated the tables and figures; Zhuang Q and Cheng K revised the manuscript; Ming YZ conceptualized and supervised the study; The equal contribution of Peng B and Li ZX was critical to the study’s completion, meriting their designation as co-first authors; Peng B, Li ZX, Yang M, Liu K, Xiang XY, Zhang Y, Li JH, Zhang PP, Zhuang Q, Cheng K, Ming YZ read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 82300857.
Institutional review board statement: The Institutional Review Board of The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University provided approval for this study (IRB No. Kuai24395).
Informed consent statement: The Institutional Review Board agreed to waive informed consent due to the research using human materials or data with unidentifiable personal information and not involving personal privacy or commercial interests.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Data sharing statement: All data underlying this article are reported within and as online Supplementary material.
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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ying-Zi Ming, Director, Professor, Transplantation Center, The Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 138 Tongzipo Road, Changsha 410013, Hunan Province, China. mingyz_china@csu.edu.cn
Received: July 24, 2025
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: October 17, 2025
Published online: November 21, 2025
Processing time: 119 Days and 16.9 Hours
Revised: August 26, 2025
Accepted: October 17, 2025
Published online: November 21, 2025
Processing time: 119 Days and 16.9 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Immune dysfunction is a hallmark characteristic of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). This study demonstrated that patients with ACLF exhibited a significant reduction in the level of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets (PBLSs). Notably, natural killer (NK) cells may be associated with the progression of liver failure. Both NK and B cells have the potential to serve as biomarkers for immune recovery after liver transplantation. A thorough assessment of dynamic changes in PBLSs provided valuable insights into the evolving immune status of this population and supported the development of strategies for post-transplantation management.