Microbial characteristics of gut microbiome dysbiosis in patients with chronic liver disease.

BACKGROUND

In this study, we are committed to exploring the characteristics of the gut microbiome in three different stages of chronic liver disease (CLD): Chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

AIM

To delineate the gut microbiota traits in individuals with chronic liver ailments (chronic hepatitis B, cirrhosis, HCC), scrutinizes microbiome alterations during the progression of these diseases, and assesses microbiome disparities among various Child-Pugh categories in cirrhosis sufferers.

METHODS

A cohort of 60 CLD patients from the Third People's Hospital of Yunnan Province were recruited from February to August 2023, together with 37 healthy counterparts. Employing 16SrDNA high-throughput sequencing, we evaluated the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota.

RESULTS

Compared to healthy subjects, patients exhibited a reduced presence of and a corresponding decline in butyrate-producing genera. In contrast, an upsurge in was observed in the diseased cohorts, particularly an increase in that intensified with the disease's progression. At the genus level, the occurrence of , , , , and was higher, with numbers augmenting as the disease advanced. Furthermore, in cirrhosis patients, an increase in was noted as liver reserve diminished, alongside a decrease in and .

CONCLUSION

The reduced abundance of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria in the intestine, alongside the increased abundance of gram-negative bacteria such as and , may promote the progression of CLD.