New Insights into the Pathogenesis of Alcoholic Liver Disease Based on Global Research.

Background and aims: Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the leading cause of death among alcohol-related diseases, yet its pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. This article employs data mining methods to conduct an indepth study of articles on ALD published in the past three decades, aiming to elucidate the pathogenesis of ALD.

Methods: Firstly, articles related to the pathogenesis of ALD were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) database. CiteSpace 6.1.R2 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 were used to visually analyze the authors, institutions, journals, and keywords of the published articles. Secondly, by thoroughly reading the top 100 most cited articles and focusing on research hotspots such as cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1), gut microbiota, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), the pathogenesis of ALD was preliminarily explored. Finally, the pathogenesis of ALD was further analyzed based on disease databases.

Results: A total of 1521 articles were retrieved from the WOS database, and 384 of these were selected for in-depth reading. From GeneCards, 9084 genes related to ALD were identified. KEGG enrichment analysis was performed using DAVID, and the hsa04936: Alcoholic liver disease pathway was selected for visualization.

Conclusions: This study preliminarily elucidates the pathogenesis of ALD, which may be associated with the release of acetaldehyde, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and various pro-inflammatory factors during alcohol metabolism. It is also closely related to gut microbiota dysbiosis and increased intestinal permeability induced by multiple factors.