Publication Name	World Journal of Gastroenterology
Manuscript ID	124598
DOI	10.3748/wjg.124598
Country	Italy

Category	Immunology
Manuscript Type	Basic Study
Article Title	Immune profiling identifies dysregulated natural killer-cell responses in primary biliary cholangitis patients who fail treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid
Manuscript Source	Unsolicited Manuscript
All Author List	Sara Franzese, Vincenzo Ronca, Simone Balin, Valentina Cazzetta, Paolo Marzano, Cristiana Soldani, Sara Terzoli, Rocco Piazza, Barbara Franceschini, Michela Anna Polidoro, Elena Fontana, Alessandro Limonta, Luciano De Carlis, Fabio Ferla, Luca Di Tommaso, Ana Lleo, Pietro Invernizzi, Joanna Mikulak, Silvia Della Bella and Domenico Mavilio
Funding Agency and Grant Number	Funding Agency Grant Number Ministero della Salute PE-2016-02363915 Gilead’s Research Scholar Program PBC (2025)
Corresponding Author	Silvia Della Bella, Associate Professor, MD, PhD, Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Unit of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, University of Milan, Via Manzoni 113, Milan 20090, Lombardy, Italy. silvia.dellabella@unimi.it
Key Words	Primary biliary cholangitis; Natural killer cells; Natural killer cell activation; Ursodeoxycholic acid; Transcriptomic profiling
Core Tip	This study demonstrates that circulating natural killer (NK) cells from patients with primary biliary cholangitis non-responders to treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) show higher activation, inflammatory and cytotoxic profiles compared with responder patients. It also provides evidence that, in the liver of end-stage UDCA non-responder patients, pro-inflammatory CD56Bright NK cells may potentially represent a persistent reservoir contributing to bile duct injury and fibrotic progression. This study advances the understanding of NK cell involvement in primary biliary cholangitis pathogenesis and highlights NK cells as a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of UDCA non-responder patients.
Citation	Franzese S, Ronca V, Balin S, Cazzetta V, Marzano P, Soldani C, Terzoli S, Piazza R, Franceschini B, Polidoro MA, Fontana E, Limonta A, De Carlis L, Ferla F, Di Tommaso L, Lleo A, Invernizzi P, Mikulak J, Della Bella S, Mavilio D. Immune profiling identifies dysregulated natural killer-cell responses in primary biliary cholangitis patients who fail treatment with ursodeoxycholic acid. World J Gastroenterol 2026; In press DOI: https://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.124598
PDF	124598-in-press.pdf

Received	2026-06-22 06:12
Peer-Review Started	2026-06-22 06:13
First Decision by Editorial Office Director
Return for Revision	2026-07-24 07:45
Revised	2026-07-28 13:25
Publication Fee Transferred	2026-09-10 14:18
Second Decision by Editor	2026-11-02 02:19
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-11-04 10:24
Articles in Press	2026-11-04 10:24
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	1007-9327 (print) and 2219-2840 (online)
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