Functional Microbial Responses to Alcohol Abstinence in Patients With Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with hepatic steatosis and dysregulation of the gut microbiota in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, how gut microbiota responds when patients stop drinking has not been well studied. In this study, we use shotgun metagenomic sequencing to elucidate the alterations in the functional capacity of gut microbiota in patients with AUD when they stop drinking for 2-weeks. Sensitive microbial pathways to alcohol abstinence were identified in AUD patients. Further, we found the functional microbial responses to alcohol abstinence were different in AUD patients with different degree of hepatic steatosis. Our results provide insights into the link between functional alterations of the gut microbiota and steatosis associated with alcohol consumption.

Keywords: AUD; CAP; metagenomics; microbiome; steatosis.

FIGURE 1

Seven sensitive microbial pathways to alcohol abstinence in alcohol use disorder patients. (A) Seven microbial pathways were enriched at WEEK 3 compared with WEEK 1. Italic: significantly altered pathway comparing control subjects and alcohol use disorder patients at WEEK 1. Bold: significantly altered pathways comparing control subjects and alcohol use disorder patients at WEEK 3. (B) Pairwise comparison of control subjects, alcohol use disorder patients at WEEK 1 and alcohol use disorder patients at WEEK 3. ^∗: p-value < 0.05; ^∗∗: p-value < 0.01.

FIGURE 2

Functional microbial response to alcohol abstinence were different in CAP High and CAP Low patients. (A) In CAP High patients, five microbial pathways were enriched at WEEK 3 (Green) and one microbial pathways were enriched at WEEK 1 (Red). (B) In CAP Low patients, five microbial pathways were enriched at WEEK 1 (Red).