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In 2020, studies have used pure cultures of members of the gut microbiota to establish a molecular chain of causation for the role of these key bacteria in aggravating or alleviating cancer and metabolic diseases. These studies highlight the need for microbiome studies to move from associations back to cultures to demonstrate causality.
Key studies published in 2020 demonstrate that an impaired intestinal barrier precedes clinical diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by years. Furthermore, studies identify novel regulators of the intestinal barrier, including intestinal macrophages and diurnal variations of diet–microbiome interactions, which could be future therapeutic strategies for IBD.
One of the most pleasurable, yet dangerous, activities of our daily life is eating. But once food has been swallowed, all we can do is to trust our gut. Several remarkable studies published in 2020 have expanded our knowledge on how the gut is intertwined with essential behaviours beyond food.
In 2020, major advances to the understanding of gastrointestinal inflammatory and infectious disease have been made using ‘mini-gut’ organoids. Key findings include the discovery of somatic inflammatory gene mutations in ulcerative colitis epithelium, a unique mutational signature in colorectal cancer caused by genotoxic Escherichia coli, and infection of intestinal organoids by SARS-CoV-2.
The World Health Organization’s targets for hepatitis C elimination by 2030 are ambitious, but, in 2020, global leadership demonstrated by Egypt, innovative strategies to improve linkage to treatment for marginalized populations and the broadened capacity of direct-acting antiviral therapy have been promising for enhanced global elimination efforts.
Important studies published in 2020 highlight that coeliac disease is a systemic autoimmune-like disorder with the potential to result in serious long-term health consequences that might also occur outside the gastrointestinal tract. Ultimately, the results of these studies will enable the development of better strategies for the management of coeliac disease.
In 2019, to help meet viral hepatitis targets from the WHO, studies have developed optimal strategies to enable transplantation of HCV-positive organs, assessed the real-world efficacy of salvage therapy for direct-acting antiviral therapy failures in chronic HCV infection and evaluated the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with current first-line antiviral therapies for chronic HBV infection.
