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
. 2021 Jan 13:7:11.
doi: 10.20517/2394-5079.2020.134. eCollection 2021.

Gut microbiota and their metabolites in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Jin Zhou  1 , Madhulika Tripathi  1 , Rohit A Sinha  2 , Brijesh Kumar Singh  1 , Paul M Yen  1   3   4
Affiliations

Gut microbiota and their metabolites in the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Jin Zhou et al. Hepatoma Res. .

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disorder worldwide. It comprises a spectrum of conditions that range from steatosis to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, with progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Currently, there is no FDA-approved pharmacological treatment for NAFLD. The pathogenesis of NAFLD involves genetic and environmental/host factors, including those that cause changes in intestinal microbiota and their metabolites. In this review, we discuss recent findings on the relationship(s) of microbiota signature with severity of NAFLD and the role(s) microbial metabolites in NAFLD progression. We discuss how metabolites may affect NAFLD progression and their potential to serve as biomarkers for NAFLD diagnosis or therapeutic targets for disease management.

Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; gut microbiome; gut microbiota metabolites.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest All authors declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Gut microbial homeostatic balance is maintained under normal conditions. Gut microbiota produced SCFAs, namely acetate, butyrate, and propionate, influence hepatic metabolism by changing epigenetics/gene expression or directly via energy metabolism. Liver produced bile acids (such as cholic acids) are also processed by gut microbiota and released systemically. There is substantial microbial dysbiosis during NAFLD that causes SIBO of Gram-negative bacteria while reducing the overall microbial diversity. This bacterial overgrowth leads to produce proinflammatory molecules such as LPS, ethanol, TMAO, and bacterial 16sDNA. These proinflammatory molecules worsen the liver inflammation and fibrosis and potentially accelerate NAFLD progression. SCFAs: short chain fatty acids; SIBO: small intestinal bacterial overgrowth; LPS: Lipopolysaccharides; TMAO: trimethylamine N-oxide; NAFLD: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Younossi Z, Anstee QM, Marietti M, et al. Global burden of NAFLD and NASH: trends, predictions, risk factors and prevention. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;15:11–20. - PubMed
    1. European Association for the Study of the L, European Association for the Study of D, European Association for the Study of O. EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. J Hepatol. 2016;64:1388–402. - PubMed
    1. Eslam M, Sanyal AJ, George J, International Consensus P MAFLD: A Consensus-Driven Proposed Nomenclature for Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease. Gastroenterology. 2020;158:1999–2014. e1. - PubMed
    1. Eslam M, Newsome PN, Sarin SK, et al. A new definition for metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease: An international expert consensus statement. J Hepatol. 2020;73:202–9. - PubMed
    1. Eslam M, Sarin SK, Wong VW, et al. The Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of metabolic associated fatty liver disease. Hepatol Int. 2020 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources