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Abstract Details
Microbiota and Fatty Liver Disease-the Known, the Unknown, and the Future
Cell Host Microbe. 2020 Aug 12;28(2):233-244. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2020.07.007.
Sonja Lang1, Bernd Schnabl2
Author information
1Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
2Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Department of Medicine, VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA. Electronic address: beschnabl@ucsd.edu.
Abstract
The liver communicates with the intestine via the portal vein, biliary system, and mediators in the circulation. Microbes in the intestine maintain liver homeostasis but can also serve as a source of pathogens and molecules that contribute to fatty liver diseases. We review changes in the gut microbiota that can promote development or progression of alcohol-associated and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-the most common chronic liver diseases in Western countries. We discuss how microbes and their products contribute to liver disease pathogenesis, putative microbial biomarkers of disease, and potential treatment approaches based on manipulation of the gut microbiota. Increasing our understanding of interactions between the intestinal microbiome and liver might help us identify patients with specific disease subtypes and select specific microbiota-based therapies.