Gut Microbiota, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Qiang Yu; Liwei Wu; Jie Ji; Jiao Feng; Weiqi Dai; Jingjing Li; Jianye Wu; Chuanyong Guo

doi:10.2147/JHC.S277870

Gut Microbiota, Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors, and Hepatocellular Carcinoma

J Hepatocell Carcinoma. 2020 Oct 29:7:271-288. doi: 10.2147/JHC.S277870. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Qiang Yu^{1

2}, Liwei Wu², Jie Ji², Jiao Feng², Weiqi Dai^{1

2

3}, Jingjing Li^{1

2}, Jianye Wu¹, Chuanyong Guo^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology, Putuo People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200060, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200072, People's Republic of China.
³ Shanghai Tongren Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200336, People's Republic of China.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. HCC incidence rate is sixth and mortality is fourth worldwide. However, HCC pathogenesis and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The incidence of HCC is associated with genetic, environmental, and metabolic factors. The role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of HCC has attracted researchers' attention because of anatomical and functional interactions between liver and intestine. Studies have demonstrated the involvement of gut microbiota in the development of HCC and chronic liver diseases, such as alcoholic liver disease (ALD), nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and liver cirrhosis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a group of receptors with diverse biological functions. Natural and synthetic PPAR agonists show potential for treatment of NAFLD, liver fibrosis, and HCC. Recent studies have demonstrated that PPARs take part in gut microbiota inhabitation and adaptation. This manuscript reviews the role of gut microbiota in the development of HCC and precancerous diseases, the role of PPARs in modulation of gut microbiota and HCC, and potential of gut microbiota for HCC diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: PPARs; carcinogenesis; gut microbiota; hepatocellular carcinoma.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by: (1) National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81670472); (2) the Yangfan Project of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission (No. 20YF1443300); (3) the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 19ZR1447700); (4) the Health System Innovation Project of Shanghai Putuo Science and Technology Commission (No. PTKWWS201801, No. PTKWWS201903); (5) WBN Hepatology Research Fund of China Hepatitis Prevention and Treatment Foundation (No. CFHPC2019031).