REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Comparative Immunology
Unveiling the Gut-Liver Axis: the behind-the-scenes "Manipulator" of Human Immune Function
Provisionally accepted
- Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract: The "gut-liver axis" enables bidirectional immunoregulation between the intestine and the liver through the portal venous circulation, bile acid metabolism, and the neuro-lymphatic network. This paper reviews its physiological pathways (vascular, biliary, neural, and lymphatic), immunomodulatory mechanisms (interaction of innate/adaptive immune cells, balance between inflammation and tolerance), and associations with diseases such as PSC, MAFLD, and IBD. Metabolites of gut microbiota activate immune cell receptors to regulate the differentiation of Tregs, while cytokines (such as IL-6) and chemokines (such as CCR9) drive the synergy of gut-liver immunity. In pathological conditions, dysbiosis, endotoxin translocation, and bile acid metabolic disorders trigger immunological dysregulation through this axis. Strategies such as targeted fecal microbiota transplantation and bile acid receptor (FXR) agonists show clinical potential. This paper systematically elaborates on the physiological and immunoregulatory mechanisms of the "gut-liver axis", explores the associations between its abnormalities and immune diseases, as well as the prospects of translational medicine. It is proposed that future research should deepen the analysis of single-cell interactions, conduct personalized interventions, and establish a new paradigm of "gut-liver axis medicine" to provide cross-organ solutions for the precise prevention and control of immune-related diseases.
Keywords: Gut-liver axis, Immunoregulation, Gut Microbiota, Bile acids, Immune function
Received: 05 Jun 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Wang, Dong and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xin Zhang, 15567001758@163.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.