[Focus on schistosomiasis cirrhosis: disease burden, pathogenic characteristics, and research frontiers]

Abstract

Schistosomiasis cirrhosis (SAC), as the core pathological outcome of late-stage schistosomiasis, is an important challenge to global public health. Notably, there is still a significant disease burden, especially in the traditional endemic areas, such as the Yangtze River Basin in China. SAC has unique pathogenic characteristics, including insect-derived molecular-driven disease, chronic inflammation dominated by Th2 immunity, delayed pathogenicity, noticeable symptoms of portal hypertension, and an absence of significant correlation with liver cancer. Therefore, future research should focus on the determinants of individual susceptibility to SAC onset, the core mechanism of liver lesion progression post-pathogen clearance, time nodes, and intervention methods. Additionally, finding the high-risk individuals, analyzing of pathological mechanisms, and optimizing intervention strategies will help in promoting the development of clinical prevention and control and translational research.