Intestinal Dysbiosis, the Tryptophan Pathway and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Jiezhong Chen; Luis Vitetta; Jeremy D Henson; Sean Hall

doi:10.1177/11786469211070533

Intestinal Dysbiosis, the Tryptophan Pathway and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Int J Tryptophan Res. 2022 Feb 7:15:11786469211070533. doi: 10.1177/11786469211070533. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Jiezhong Chen¹, Luis Vitetta^{1

2}, Jeremy D Henson^{1

3}, Sean Hall¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Department, Medlab Clinical, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
² Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Wales Clinical School, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) progresses from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH), which may then progress to the development of cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma. NASH is characterized by both steatosis and inflammation. Control of inflammation in NASH is a key step for the prevention of disease progression to severe sequalae. Intestinal dysbiosis has been recognized to be an important causal factor in the pathogenesis of NASH, involving both the accumulation of lipids and aggravation of inflammation. The effects of gut dysbiosis are mediated by adverse shifts of various intestinal commensal bacterial genera and their associated metabolites such as butyrate, tryptophan, and bile acids. In this review, we focus on the roles of tryptophan and its metabolites in NASH in association with intestinal dysbiosis and discuss possible therapeutic implications.

Keywords: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; dysbiosis; inflammation; intestinal microbiome; tryptophan.

Publication types

Review