Contribution of gut microbiota to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Pathways of mechanisms

Abstract

Background & aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common, multifactorial liver disease with rapidly increasing prevalence. During the past decade, several lines of evidence have suggested that gut microbiota dysbiosis represents a major factor contributing to NAFLD occurrence and its progression.

Method: We have performed a review of the published data on the relationship between gut microbiota and risk factors for NAFLD and the role that gut-liver axis plays in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

Results: Accumulated evidence has indicated that dysfunction of the gut-liver axis, including increased intestinal permeability, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, microbiota-derived mediators, and intestinal dysbiosis contribute to the progression and development of NAFLD.

Conclusions: The findings of this review suggest that lifestyle modification and manipulation of gut microbiota can be considered as a therapeutic target for NAFLD management. However, important documents supporting the role of gut microbiota in NAFLD come from animal studies; therefore, information from studies on humans could lead to novel therapeutics for this highly common disorder.

Keywords: Dysbiosis; Gut microbiota; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Prebiotic; Probiotics; Synbiotic.