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REVIEW article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Clinical Infectious Diseases
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1504223
This article is part of the Research Topic Molecular mechanisms and clinical studies of multi-organ dysfunction in sepsis associated with pathogenic microbial infection View all 4 articles

Mechanisms of Sepsis-Induced Acute Liver Injury: A Comprehensive Review

Provisionally accepted
Yongjing Guo Yongjing Guo 1Wanxu Guo Wanxu Guo 2Huimin Chen Huimin Chen 2Jian Sun Jian Sun 1*Yongjie Yin Yongjie Yin 1*
  • 1 Department of Emergency and Critical Care, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
  • 2 Department of Neonate, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Sepsis is a severe, often life-threatening form of organ dysfunction that arises from an inappropriately regulated host response to infectious pathogen exposure. As the largest gland in the body, the liver serves as a regulatory hub for metabolic, immune, and detoxification activity. It is also an early sepsis target organ such that hepatic dysfunction is observed in 34-46% of patients with sepsis. The precise mechanisms that give rise to sepsis-induced liver injury, however, remain incompletely understood. Based on the research conducted to date, dysregulated systemic inflammation, microbial translocation, microcirculatory abnormalities, cell death, metabolic dysfunction, and liver inflammation may all contribute to the liver damage that can arise in the context of septicemia. This review was developed to provide an overview summarizing the potential mechanisms underlying sepsis-induced liver injury, informing the selection of potential targets for therapeutic intervention and providing a framework for the alleviation of patient symptoms and the improvement of prognostic outcomes.

    Keywords: Sepsis, liver injury, Pathogenesis, Inflammation, Metabolism, ferroptosis

    Received: 30 Sep 2024; Accepted: 31 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Guo, Guo, Chen, Sun and Yin. 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:
    Jian Sun, Department of Emergency and Critical Care, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China
    Yongjie Yin, Department of Emergency and Critical Care, the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China

    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.