Review
Immunology
Leticia Munoz, Esther Caparros, Agustin Albillos, Ruben Frances
Summary: Cirrhosis is the end-stage of chronic liver diseases and is characterized by altered bile acids metabolism, increased blood-brain barrier permeability, and dysbiosis of intestinal microbiota. These changes disrupt gut immunity, leading to liver disease progression. This review focuses on the contribution of liver and brain metabolites in shaping intestinal immune status and discusses therapeutic approaches targeting intestinal homeostasis in cirrhosis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biology
Valeria Maccauro, Carlo Airola, Francesco Santopaolo, Antonio Gasbarrini, Francesca Romana Ponziani, Maurizio Pompili
Summary: Liver cirrhosis is a chronic disease that often leads to complications such as variceal bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy, ascites, and jaundice, with increased mortality. Infections, particularly spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP), are common in cirrhotic patients due to impaired immunity and altered intestinal microbiota. SBP is primarily caused by Gram-negative bacteria translocating through the defective intestinal barrier. The first-line treatment is antibiotic therapy, but it may worsen dysbiosis. Future therapies aim to selectively modulate the gut microbiota or reduce intestinal permeability.
Article
Immunology
Xiao Yu, Ye Jin, Wangxiao Zhou, Tingting Xiao, Zhongwen Wu, Junwei Su, Hainv Gao, Ping Shen, Beiwen Zheng, Qixia Luo, Lanjuan Li, Yonghong Xiao
Summary: This study assessed the impact of long-term prophylactic use of rifaximin on the gut microbiota and resistome in cirrhotic patients. The results showed that rifaximin did not significantly alter the gut microbiota and did not induce the emergence of new antimicrobial resistance genes. Rifaximin improved hyperammonemia and cognitive function, potentially through modulating HE-related metabolic pathways.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Physiology
Ruichao Yue, Xiaoyuan Wei, Jiangchao Zhao, Zhanxiang Zhou, Wei Zhong
Summary: Chronic alcohol exposure impairs intestinal IFN-gamma-STAT signaling, leading to reduced expression of antimicrobial peptides and dysbiosis. Activation of IFN-gamma-STAT signaling can enhance antimicrobial defense, regulate gut microbiota, and alleviate alcohol-induced intestinal and hepatic inflammation.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Huayu Guan, Xiang Zhang, Ming Kuang, Jun Yu
Summary: The gut-liver axis plays a crucial role in host-microbiota communications and immune homeostasis. In diseases such as hepatic cirrhosis, gut dysbiosis and impaired intestinal barrier lead to immune alterations in the liver and other organs. This review discusses the immune changes in the gut-liver axis and how microbiota-derived immune remodeling contributes to the progression of hepatic cirrhosis.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Surgery
Lucia Paiano, Manuela Mastronardi, Giuseppina Campisciano, Natalia Rosso, Biagio Casagranda, Manola Comar, Nicolo de Manzini, Silvia Palmisano
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the possible relationship between gut microbiota dysbiosis in obese patients and the presence of bacterial genomes in their liver biopsies. The results showed that there was a significant reduction of Roseburia intestinalis in fecal samples of patients with liver biopsies colonized by bacteria, suggesting a potential link to gut and vascular barrier permeability. Additionally, this study is the first to report the presence of bacterial genome in a liver biopsy on bariatric patients instead of microbe-associated molecular patterns.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Roman Maslennikov, Elena Poluektova, Oxana Zolnikova, Alla Sedova, Anastasia Kurbatova, Yulia Shulpekova, Natyia Dzhakhaya, Svetlana Kardasheva, Maria Nadinskaia, Elena Bueverova, Vladimir Nechaev, Anna Karchevskaya, Vladimir Ivashkin
Summary: Cirrhosis is the final outcome of liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases. Gut dysbiosis leads to bacterial translocation, activating Kupffer cells to produce fibrogenic cytokines and stimulating hepatic stellate cells to transform into myofibroblasts. Blocking bacterial translocation with antibiotics, probiotics, and other methods may slow down the progression of liver fibrosis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Roman Maslennikov, Vladimir Ivashkin, Irina Efremova, Elena Poluektova, Anna Kudryavtseva, George Krasnov
Summary: This study found a relationship between small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and gut dysbiosis in patients with cirrhosis. Patients with SIBO had higher levels of Firmicutes and Fusobacteria, and lower levels of Bacteroidetes compared to patients without SIBO. However, gut dysbiosis and SIBO are likely independent disorders in cirrhosis.
WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Brandon H. Schlomann, Raghuveer Parthasarathy
Summary: By studying the formation of three-dimensional bacterial clusters experimentally and theoretically, it was found that the distribution of gut bacterial cluster sizes follows a power law decay, with the decay trend of larger clusters being strain-dependent.
Article
Ecology
Alan Emanuel Silva Cerqueira, Tobin J. Hammer, Nancy A. Moran, Weyder Cristiano Santana, Maria Catarina Megumi Kasuya, Cynthia Canedo da Silva
Summary: A study on Brazilian stingless bees revealed that they lack common bacterial symbionts Snodgrassella and Gilliamella found in other social corbiculate bees, instead harboring more environmental bacteria and bee-specific Starmerella yeasts. This indicates ecological shifts or acquisition of new symbionts as functional replacements in the stingless bees.
Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Menghao Li, Kai Li, Shihao Tang, Yong Lv, Qiuhe Wang, Zhengyu Wang, Bohan Luo, Jing Niu, Ying Zhu, Wengang Guo, Wei Bai, Enxin Wang, Dongdong Xia, Zhexuan Wang, Xiaomei Li, Jie Yuan, Zhanxin Yin, Jonel Trebicka, Guohong Han
Summary: This study found that alterations in gut dysbiosis were negatively associated with the occurrence and severity of post-TIPS HE, and improving the microbiota can help reduce the incidence of HE. Analysis of the gut microbiota can be used to screen suitable patients for TIPS and prevent the occurrence of HE.
Article
Immunology
Weina Guo, Xin Zhou, Xiaoran Li, Qingfeng Zhu, Jing Peng, Bin Zhu, Xin Zheng, Yinping Lu, Dongliang Yang, Baoju Wang, Junzhong Wang
Summary: Depleting gut microbiota with antibiotics can impair gut barrier function and suppress T cell antiviral immune response in the liver.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xianfeng Zeng, Xi Xing, Meera Gupta, Felix C. Keber, Jaime G. Lopez, Ying-Chiang J. Lee, Asael Roichman, Lin Wang, Michael D. Neinast, Mohamed S. Donia, Martin Wuhr, Cholsoon Jang, Joshua D. Rabinowitz
Summary: This study quantitatively examines the inputs and outputs of the mouse gut microbiome using isotope tracing, revealing systematic differences in nutrient use across different bacteria. Diet can shape the microbiome by promoting the growth of bacteria that preferentially use the ingested nutrients.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ce Qi, Huayu Tu, Jingbo Zhou, Rundan Tu, Hong Chang, Jie Chen, Haiting Hu, Renqiang Yu, Jin Sun
Summary: Transmission of gut microbiota from mother to offspring plays a critical role in infant gut microbiota and immune development. Mother's intestine and breast milk contain sIgA, which coats specific bacteria and may be involved in bacterial transmission and colonization.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Qiang Wang, Chengxin Chen, Shi Zuo, Kun Cao, Haiyang Li
Summary: This study described the changes in the gut microbiome of patients with cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy (HE), as well as the variations in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and tryptophan metabolite levels in serum and faeces. The results showed that patients with HE and cirrhosis had lower microbial species richness and diversity, and exhibited altered levels of SCFAs and tryptophan metabolites.
JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE
(2023)