The Gut Microbiome and Ferroptosis in MAFLD

Jie Ji; Liwei Wu; Jue Wei; Jianye Wu; Chuanyong Guo

doi:10.14218/JCTH.2022.00136

The Gut Microbiome and Ferroptosis in MAFLD

J Clin Transl Hepatol. 2023 Feb 28;11(1):174-187. doi: 10.14218/JCTH.2022.00136. Epub 2022 Jul 14.

Authors

Jie Ji^{1

2}, Liwei Wu^{1

2}, Jue Wei³, Jianye Wu¹, Chuanyong Guo^{1

2}

Affiliations

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

Abstract

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a new disease definition, and is proposed to replace the previous name, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Globally, MAFLD/NAFLD is the most common liver disease, with an incidence rate ranging from 6% to 35% in adult populations. The pathogenesis of MAFLD/NAFLD is closely related to insulin resistance (IR), and the genetic susceptibility to acquired metabolic stress-associated liver injury. Similarly, the gut microbiota in MAFLD/NAFLD is being revaluated by scientists, as the gut and liver influence each other via the gut-liver axis. Ferroptosis is a novel form of programmed cell death caused by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Emerging evidence suggests that ferroptosis has a key role in the pathological progression of MAFLD/NAFLD, and inhibition of ferroptosis may become a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of NAFLD. This review focuses on the main mechanisms behind the promotion of MAFLD/NAFLD occurrence and development by the intestinal microbiota and ferroptosis. It outlines new strategies to target the intestinal microbiota and ferroptosis to facilitate future MAFLD/NAFLD therapies.

Keywords: Ferroptosis; Gut microbiota; Gut-liver axis; Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Publication types

Review