Journal of Inflammation Research

The Role of Aseptic Inflammation in Cholestatic and Ischemic Liver Injury: From Diagnosis to Regenerative Therapy

The Journal of Inflammation Research is pleased to welcome you to submit your research to the Article Collection "The Role of Aseptic Inflammation in Cholestatic and Ischemic Liver Injury: From Diagnosis to Regenerative Therapy".

Aseptic (sterile) inflammation, defined as the immune response to non-infectious stimuli, is gaining increasing importance in the pathogenesis of liver diseases. Particularly in cholestatic and ischemic liver injury, damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) released following cellular damage initiate inflammatory processes through activation of the innate immune system and play a decisive role in disease progression.

Although liver and gallbladder inflammation is often associated with infections (viral hepatitis, cholangitis) or autoimmune processes, aseptic inflammation (sterile inflammation) is gaining increasing importance in clinical practice. Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), extrahepatic cholestasis (bile duct obstruction), or toxic drug injury can trigger a potent inflammatory response in the absence of pathogens. This process can lead to hepatocyte death, impaired bile duct remodeling (ductopenia), and ultimately fibrosis or failure.

This Article Collection aims to comprehensively address the mechanistic role of aseptic inflammation in cholestatic liver diseases (e.g., primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis) as well as in ischemic liver injury. By integrating basic science findings with clinical practice, the Collection seeks to offer new perspectives in the areas of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment, while providing an interdisciplinary platform for researchers working in the fields of hepatology, immunology, transplantation, and intensive care. Particularly through the combined evaluation of translational research, experimental models, and clinical studies, it will contribute to the development of innovative treatment strategies targeting aseptic inflammation as well as also diagnostic tools and therapeutic approaches that can be directly translated into clinical practice, thereby guiding future research in the field of liver and gallbladder inflammation. We will consider any article type accepted by the journal, with special attention given to original research, reviews, brief reports, and perspectives/opinion pieces.

Within the scope of this Collection, the following themes are particularly encouraged:

1. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Aseptic Inflammation
   • DAMPs and pattern recognition receptors (TLRs, NLRs)
   • Inflammasome activation (especially NLRP3)
   • Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction
   • Cell death mechanisms (apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis)
   • Cytokine Networks involved in pathogenesis of aseptic inflammation
2. Cholestatic Liver Diseases
   • Bile acid-mediated inflammation and toxicity
   • Immune response in primary biliary cholangitis and primary sclerosing cholangitis
   • Hepatocyte and cholangiocyte injury in cholestasis
3. Ischemic and Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
   • Inflammatory response following transplantation and surgery
   • Microcirculatory disturbances
   • Immune cell activation (Kupffer cells, neutrophils)
4. Diagnostic Approaches and Biomarkers
   • Non-invasive markers of inflammation
   • Multi-omic approaches (genomics, proteomics, metabolomics)
   • Assessment of inflammation using imaging techniques
5. Fibrosis and Regeneration
   • Inflammation–fibrosis interplay
   • Hepatic stellate cell activation
   • Liver regeneration and tissue repair
6. Therapeutic and Regenerative Approaches
   • Inflammasome inhibitors and immunomodulation
   • Bile acid receptor-targeted therapies (FXR, TGR5)
   • Cellular therapies and regenerative medicine
   • Experimental and clinical novel treatment strategies

Keywords: Aseptic inflammation (Sterile inflammation); Cholestatic liver diseases; Ischemia-reperfusion injury; Inflammasome activation; Liver regeneration

Meet the Guest Advisor

Dr. Fatih Türker serves as an Associate Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine, Istanbul Haseki Training and Research Hospital, University of Health Sciences. In 2015, he completed his MD degree in Internal Medicine at Istanbul Haseki Training and Research Hospital. As a clinician and educator, Dr. Türker is dedicated to patient care, medical education, and scientific research. His responsibilities include comprehensive patient evaluation, diagnosis and management of multisystem diseases, clinical research, and supervising the training of new internal medicine specialists. He holds memberships in various national and international professional societies. His research interests encompass a wide range of topics, including chronic liver diseases, post-liver transplantation patient follow-up and evaluation, fatty liver disease, diabetes mellitus and its complications, causes of mortality in hospitalized internal medicine patients, and the impact of various inflammation and nutrition indices on mortality. He has published numerous articles in national and international journals and serves as a voluntary peer reviewer for esteemed national and international publications, contributing to the evaluation of numerous manuscripts.