Emerging therapeutic strategies in the fight against primary biliary cholangitis

The liver has a vital role in many metabolic and regulatory processes in the body. Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), pre-viously known as primary biliary cirrhosis, is a chronic choles-tatic autoimmune disease of the intrahepatic bile ducts asso-ciated with loss of tolerance to mitochondrial antigens. At this time there is no definitive cure for PBC; however, ursodeoxy-cholic acid (UDCA) has been shown to reduce injury when ad-ministered as the first line of treatment. Additional therapeu-tics can be given concurrently or as an alternative to UDCA to manage the symptoms and further curb disease progression. Currently, a liver transplant is the only potentially curative option when the patient has developed end-stage liver dis-ease or intractable pruritus. This review aims to delineate the pathogenesis of primary biliary cholangitis and shed light on current therapeutic strategies in the treatment of PBC.