Background Splenomegaly is not just a consequence of numerous chronic and acute conditions but may also contribute to their severity, due to the interaction of the spleen with the gut microbiome. This study aimed to explore the effect of the gut microbiome on splenomegaly. Methods We used p40 −/− IL-2Rα −/− mice as a murine model of primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) as per our previous study. Splenomegaly was evaluated by spleen weight. Severity of liver inflammation was evaluated by hepatic mononuclear cell (MNCs) number and pathological score. Changes of immune cells in the spleen and liver were detected by flow cytometry. The effects of the gut microbiome on splenomegaly and liver inflammation were observed by combined antibiotic treatment in p40 −/− IL-2Rα −/− mice. Results A proportion of p40 −/− IL-2Rα −/− mice developed splenomegaly. The results revealed that liver mononuclear cells infiltration, histological scores of hepatic inflammation, and bile duct damage were positively correlated with the degree of splenomegaly. Hepatic CD4 + and CD8 + T cells numbers were significantly higher in mice with splenomegaly, and this was particularly observed in activated effector memory CD4 + T and CD8 + T cells. A proportion of some other immune cells including granulocytes, B, natural killer (NK), and CD8 + T effector memory cells were also altered in the enlarged spleen. More importantly, administration of quadruple antibiotics to deplete gut microbiota relieved the splenomegaly of p40 −/− IL-2Rα −/− mice, significantly alleviated liver inflammation, and caused a significant reduction of liver and spleen T cell accumulation and activation; however, single antibiotics did not induce these changes. Conclusions Splenomegaly was associated with more severe liver inflammation in our PBC murine model, and this effect was reversed by quadruple antibiotic treatment.

The sustainable development of the furniture industry is experiencing the challenges of energy consumption and waste disposal. Product–service systems (PSSs) have the potential to promote sustainable development and the opportunity to transition to a circular economy (CE). PSSs can bring a series of benefits to sustainable furniture, but there are still some problems to be considered, such as the safe storage and transmission of information and data and the protection of stakeholders’ rights and interests. With digitization becoming a major trend, emerging digital technologies such as blockchain (BC) are proving to have the potential to solve related problems. Therefore, this paper aims to integrate the potential roles of BC and PSSs in the lifecycle of sustainable furniture. This paper adopts a mixed quantitative and qualitative research method. Firstly, the potential relationship among furniture, PSSs, and BC was quantitatively analyzed by VOSviewer. Secondly, this paper qualitatively analyzes the lifecycle stages of sustainable furniture, the advantages of PSSs to promote sustainable furniture, and the potential of BC to enhance the PSSs information model (IM) to further promote sustainable furniture to address related challenges. Subsequently, the conceptual BC-enhanced PSSs IM (BC-PSSs) framework was constructed, which contains the high-level and the low-level of structure and process, and then reviewed and refined through pre-interview questionnaires and follow-up interviews by industry experts and scholars. In addition, discussing the contribution of the conceptual BC-PSSs framework in sustainable furniture, and the potential of BC-PSSs in quantifying design value, encouraging designers to contribute value, and exploring the potential role of BC-PSSs in supporting sustainable consumer behavior. It is the first attempt to construct a conceptual BC-enhanced PSSs IM framework for sustainable furniture from the perspective of lifecycle stages, which can serve as a reference for researchers and policymakers in relevant directions to support sustainable development, in particular contributing to the achievement of SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDGs 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).