Significance of gut microbiota in alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases

Abstract

Liver-gut communication is vital in fatty liver diseases, and gut microbes are the key regulators in maintaining liver homeostasis. Chronic alcohol abuse and persistent overnutrition create dysbiosis in gut ecology, which can contribute to fatty liver disease. In this review, we discuss the gut microbial compositional changes that occur in alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases and how this gut microbial dysbiosis and its metabolic products are involved in fatty liver disease pathophysiology. We also summarize the new approaches related to gut microbes that might help in the diagnosis and treatment of fatty liver disease.

Keywords: Fatty liver disease; Alcoholic fatty liver disease; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Gut microbiome; Dysbiosis

Core Tip: In this review, we compare the gut microbial composition in two different fatty liver diseases: Alcoholic fatty liver and nonalcoholic fatty liver. This review enables readers to recognize the gut microbiota compositional differences that occur in these two histopathologically analogous conditions and to explore these gut microbial compositional variations in their research. Additionally, this review will also be helpful in the design of new experiments aiming to develop new diagnostic and/or therapeutic methodologies.