The role of gut microbiota in the occurrence and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Huanzhuo Mai; Xing Yang; Yulan Xie; Jie Zhou; Qing Wang; Yiru Wei; Yuecong Yang; Dongjia Lu; Li Ye; Ping Cui; Hao Liang; Jiegang Huang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1257903

The role of gut microbiota in the occurrence and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Front Microbiol. 2024 Jan 5:14:1257903. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1257903. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Huanzhuo Mai^#^{1

2}, Xing Yang^#^{1

2}, Yulan Xie^#^{1

2}, Jie Zhou^{1

2}, Qing Wang^{1

2}, Yiru Wei^{1

2}, Yuecong Yang^{1

2}, Dongjia Lu^{1

2}, Li Ye^{1

2

3}, Ping Cui^{2

3

4}, Hao Liang^{1

2

3

4}, Jiegang Huang^{1

2

5}

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
² Guangxi Key Laboratory of AIDS Prevention and Treatment, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
³ Joint Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases in China (Guangxi)-ASEAN, Nanning, China.
⁴ Life Sciences Institute, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.
⁵ Guangxi Colleges and Universities Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control of Highly Prevalent Diseases, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, and gut microbes are associated with the development and progression of NAFLD. Despite numerous studies exploring the changes in gut microbes associated with NAFLD, there was no consistent pattern of changes.

Method: We retrieved studies on the human fecal microbiota sequenced by 16S rRNA gene amplification associated with NAFLD from the NCBI database up to April 2023, and re-analyzed them using bioinformatic methods.

Results: We finally screened 12 relevant studies related to NAFLD, which included a total of 1,189 study subjects (NAFLD, n = 654; healthy control, n = 398; obesity, n = 137). Our results revealed a significant decrease in gut microbial diversity with the occurrence and progression of NAFLD (SMD = -0.32; 95% CI -0.42 to -0.21; p < 0.001). Alpha diversity and the increased abundance of several crucial genera, including Desulfovibrio, Negativibacillus, and Prevotella, can serve as an indication of their predictive risk ability for the occurrence and progression of NAFLD (all AUC > 0.7). The occurrence and progression of NAFLD are significantly associated with higher levels of LPS biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, glutathione metabolism, and lipid metabolism.

Conclusion: This study elucidated gut microbes relevance to disease development and identified potential risk-associated microbes and functional pathways associated with NAFLD occurrence and progression.

Keywords: 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing; gut microbiota; liver disease; microbial markers; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, grant nos. 82060366, 82273694, and 82160385) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (grant no. 2023GXNSFDA026036).