Abstract
The rapid scientific interest in gut microbiota (GM) has coincided with a global increase in the prevalence of infectious and non-infectivous liver diseases. GM, which is also called “the new virtual metabolic organ”, makes axis with a number of extraintestinal organs, such as kidneys, brain, cardiovascular, and the bone system. The gut-liver axis has attracted greater attention in recent years. GM communication is bi-directional and involves endocrine and immunological mechanisms. In this way, gut-dysbiosis and composition of “ancient” microbiota could be linked to pathogenesis of numerous chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), development of liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this paper, we discuss the current evidence supporting a GM role in the management of different chronic liver diseases and potential new therapeutic GM targets, like fecal transplantation, antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and symbiotics. We conclude that population-level shifts in GM could play a regulatory role in the gut-liver axis and, consequently, etiopathogenesis of chronic liver diseases. This could have a positive impact on future therapeutic strategies.
Highlights
The gut microbiota (GM) colonizes human intestinal tract, which accounts for more than 100 trillion bacteria, and has a complex genome of 150-fold more genes than the human genome [2]
The gut-liver axis has an impact on pathogenesis of numerous chronic liver diseases such as chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), alcoholic liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), development of liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (Table 1)
Acute Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection leads to CHB in just 5% of adult patients, while the proportion is quite different in children, since more than 90% of exposed neonates and 30% to 50% of children aged 1 to 5 years fail in HBV clearance
Summary
The gut microbiota (GM) is a diverse ecosystem that consists of bacteria, protozoa, archaea, fungi, and viruses, which exist in a specific symbiosis between each other and the human body as well. Different genetic and environmental factors influence the GM composition. Studies published in the last decade confirmed that the GM is implicated in the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as cancer and autism, depression, Clostridium difficile infection, inflammatory bowel disease, irritably bowel syndrome, colorectal carcinoma, infectious and non-infectious chronic liver diseases, obesity, diabetes mellitus type 2, atherosclerosis, and chronic kidney diseases [4,5,6,7,8,9]. The important role of GM in the pathogenesis of most common liver diseases was discussed
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
