Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 May 7;25(17):2019-2028.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v25.i17.2019.

Microbial metabolites in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Da Zhou  1 , Jian-Gao Fan  2
Affiliations
Review

Microbial metabolites in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Da Zhou et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is rising exponentially worldwide. The spectrum of NAFLD includes non-alcoholic fatty liver, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, liver cirrhosis, and even hepatocellular carcinoma. Evidence shows that microbial metabolites play pivotal roles in the onset and progression of NAFLD. In this review, we discuss how microbe-derived metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids, endogenous ethanol, bile acids and so forth, contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Keywords: Microbial metabolites; Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; Short-chain fatty acids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of microbial metabolites on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease via the gut-liver axis. SCFAs: Short-chain fatty acids; I3A: Indole-3-acetic acid; IPA: Indole propionic acid; GPR41/43: G-protein-coupled receptors 41/43; ZO-1: Zonula occludens 1; GLP-1: Glucagon-like peptide-1; PYY: Peptide YY; TLR4: Toll-like receptor 4; FMO3: Flavin-containing monooxygenase 3; TMAO: Trimethylamine-N-oxide; FXR: Farnesoid X receptor; TGR5: Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5; S1PR2: Sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 2; BCAAs: Branched-chain amino acids.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wang FS, Fan JG, Zhang Z, Gao B, Wang HY. The global burden of liver disease: the major impact of China. Hepatology. 2014;60:2099–2108. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fan JG, Kim SU, Wong VW. New trends on obesity and NAFLD in Asia. J Hepatol. 2017;67:862–873. - PubMed
    1. Day CP, James OF. Steatohepatitis: a tale of two "hits"? Gastroenterology. 1998;114:842–845. - PubMed
    1. Tilg H, Moschen AR. Evolution of inflammation in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: the multiple parallel hits hypothesis. Hepatology. 2010;52:1836–1846. - PubMed
    1. Diehl AM, Day C. Cause, Pathogenesis, and Treatment of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. N Engl J Med. 2017;377:2063–2072. - PubMed