Laivacuma Sniedze, Oblate Olga, Derovs Aleksejs
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectology, Rīga Stradiņš University, 16 Dzirciema Str., LV-1007 Riga, Latvia.
Riga East University Hospital, 2 Hipokrata Str., LV-1079 Riga, Latvia.
Microorganisms. 2025 Apr 30;13(5):1053. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms13051053.
Chronic viral hepatitis B and C remain major global health challenges, contributing significantly to liver-related morbidity and mortality. Despite antiviral therapies and vaccines for HBV, progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma remains common. For HCV, the lack of a vaccine and high chronicity rates further complicate outcomes. Recent evidence highlights gut-liver axis dysfunction and microbiota dysbiosis in disease progression, immune dysregulation, and fibrosis. Notably, alterations in microbiota composition, including reduced commensal bacteria such as and and an increase in putatively harmful and , have been observed in HBV/HCV infections and cirrhosis. While antiviral therapies do not directly target the gut microbiota, they can contribute to partial restoration of microbial balance by reducing hepatic inflammation and improving gut-liver axis integrity. Nonetheless, post-treatment patients remain at elevated risk of HCC due to persistent epigenetic and immune-mediated changes. Emerging interventions, including probiotic strains, prebiotics, and symbiotics, demonstrate potential in enhancing gut health, alleviating inflammation, and enhancing the quality of life for liver disease patients. Moreover, the gut microbiota is gaining increasing recognition as a potential non-invasive biomarker for early disease detection and monitoring. Ultimately, modulating the gut microbiota could become an integral component of future strategies for managing chronic liver diseases and preventing their complications.
慢性乙型和丙型病毒性肝炎仍然是全球主要的健康挑战,对肝脏相关的发病率和死亡率有重大影响。尽管有针对乙肝病毒的抗病毒疗法和疫苗,但进展为肝硬化和肝细胞癌仍然很常见。对于丙肝病毒,缺乏疫苗以及高慢性化率使病情结果更加复杂。最近的证据强调了肠道-肝脏轴功能障碍和微生物群失调在疾病进展、免疫失调和纤维化中的作用。值得注意的是,在乙肝/丙肝感染和肝硬化中观察到微生物群组成的改变,包括共生细菌如 和 的减少以及潜在有害细菌 和 的增加。虽然抗病毒疗法并不直接针对肠道微生物群,但它们可以通过减轻肝脏炎症和改善肠道-肝脏轴完整性来促进微生物平衡的部分恢复。尽管如此,治疗后的患者由于持续的表观遗传和免疫介导的变化,患肝细胞癌的风险仍然较高。新兴的干预措施,包括益生菌菌株、益生元以及合生元,在促进肠道健康、减轻炎症和提高肝病患者生活质量方面显示出潜力。此外,肠道微生物群作为早期疾病检测和监测的潜在非侵入性生物标志物正越来越受到认可。最终,调节肠道微生物群可能成为未来管理慢性肝病及其预防并发症策略的一个不可或缺的组成部分。