Gut microbial signatures in autoimmune hepatitis: unlocking diagnostic and therapeutic potential

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease with unclear etiology but likely results from a complex interplay of genetic susceptibility and environmental triggers. Emerging evidence highlights the role of gut microbiota in AIH pathogenesis, with specific genera such as Veillonella, Lactobacillus, and Oscillospira demonstrating diagnostic value. Dysbiosis-associated biomarkers like lipopolysaccharide and aspartate aminotransferase further support a microbial role in disease onset and progression. Despite these promising developments, rare AIH variants remain poorly characterized due to methodological and population-level limitations. Moving forward, large-scale, longitudinal studies integrating metagenomics, metabolomics, and host genomic data are needed to establish subtype-specific microbial markers and assess the efficacy of targeted interventions such as probiotics and bacteriophage therapy.