Liu Z, et al. - For this investigation, 32 cirrhotic patients and 27 healthy volunteers were recruited to identify the specific bile acid and investigate its possible mechanisms in promoting liver cirrhosis, as well as to find a potential therapeutic target for liver cirrhosis. Researchers collected age, gender, Child-Pugh classification and serum of patients and volunteers. They used the Spearman rank correlation analysis to evaluate the association between concentrations of bile acids and Child-Pugh classification. Increased taurocholic acid (TCA) concentration in cirrhosis was mainly due to increased bile acid biosynthesis. They reported that TCA was an active promoter of the progression of liver cirrhosis. Findings suggested that TCA promoting liver cirrhosis was likely through activating hepatic stellate cells by means of upregulating Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) expression. For the prevention and treatment of liver cirrhosis, TCA was a potential therapeutic target.