scholarly journals The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Liver Cirrhosis Treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Na Young Lee ◽  
Ki Tae Suk

Liver cirrhosis is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide. In addition to viral hepatitis, diseases such as steatohepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, sclerosing cholangitis and Wilson’s disease can also lead to cirrhosis. Moreover, alcohol can cause cirrhosis on its own and exacerbate chronic liver disease of other causes. The treatment of cirrhosis can be divided into addressing the cause of cirrhosis and reversing liver fibrosis. To this date, there is still no clear consensus on the treatment of cirrhosis. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in potential treatments that modulate the gut microbiota and gut-liver axis for the treatment of cirrhosis. According to recent studies, modulation of the gut microbiome by probiotics ameliorates the progression of liver disease. The precise mechanism for relieving cirrhosis via gut microbial modulation has not been identified. This paper summarizes the role and effects of the gut microbiome in cirrhosis based on experimental and clinical studies on absorbable antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. Moreover, it provides evidence of a relationship between the gut microbiome and liver fibrosis.

Author(s):  
Na Young Lee ◽  
Ki Tae Suk

Liver cirrhosis is one of the most prevalent chronic liver diseases worldwide. In addition to viral hepatitis, genetic conditions such as steatohepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, sclerosing cholangitis, and Wilson’s disease can also lead to cirrhosis. Moreover, alcohol can cause cirrhosis on its own and exacerbate chronic liver disease from other causes. The treatment of cirrhosis can be divided into addressing the cause of cirrhosis and reversing liver fibrosis. To this date, there is still no clear consensus on the treatment of cirrhosis. Recently, there has been a lot of interest in potential treatments that modulate the gut microbiota and gut-liver axis for the treatment of cirrhosis. According to recent studies, modulation of the gut microbiome by probiotics ameliorates the progression of liver disease. The precise mechanism for relieving cirrhosis via gut microbial modulation has not been identified. This paper summarizes the role and effects of the gut microbiome in cirrhosis based on experimental and clinical studies on absorbable antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. Moreover, it provides evidence of a relationship between the gut microbiome and liver cirrhosis.


Author(s):  
Sangale Mukta

Abstract: Ursodeoxycholic acid is a dihy- droxy bile acid with a rapidly expanding spectrum of usage in acute and chronic liver diseases. The various mechanisms of action of this hydrophilic bile acid include direct cytoprotection, detergent action on dysfunctional microtubules, immunomodulation and induction of hypercholer- esis. Its efficacy in primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis as an adjunct to medical therapy has been well established.Ursodeoxycholic acid prolongs survival in primary biliary cirrhosis and it improves biochemical parameters of cholestasis in various other cholestatic disorders including primary sclerosing cholangitis, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, cystic fibrosis and total parenteral nutritioninduced cholestasis. However, a positive effect on survival remains to be established in these diseases. Ursodeoxycholic acid is of unproven efficacy in non- cholestatic disorders such as acute rejection after liver transplantation, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, alcoholic liver disease and chronic viral hepatitis. This review outlines the present knowledge of the Pharmacology of ursodeoxycholic acid, and presents data from clinical trials on its use in chronic liver diseases. Keywords: Liver cirrhosis, Urisodeoxycholic acid


2017 ◽  
Vol 131 (15) ◽  
pp. 1971-1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Schueller ◽  
Sanchari Roy ◽  
Sven Heiko Loosen ◽  
Jan Alder ◽  
Christiane Koppe ◽  
...  

Background: Dysregulation of miRNAs has been described in tissue and serum from patients with acute and chronic liver diseases. However, only little information on the role of miR-223 in the pathophysiology of acute liver failure (ALF) and liver cirrhosis is available. Methods: We analysed cell and tissue specific expression levels as well as serum concentrations of miR-223 in mouse models of acute (hepatic ischaemia and reperfusion, single CCl4 injection) and chronic (repetitive CCl4 injection, bile duct ligation (BDL)) liver diseases. Results were validated in patients and correlated with clinical data. The specific hepatic role of miR-223 was analysed by using miR-223−/− mice in these models. Results: miR-223 expression was significantly dysregulated in livers from mice after induction of acute liver injury and liver fibrosis as well as in liver samples from patients with ALF or liver cirrhosis. In acute and chronic models, hepatic miR-223 up-regulation was restricted to hepatocytes and correlated with degree of liver injury and hepatic cell death. Moreover, elevated miR-223 expression was reflected by significantly higher serum levels of miR-223 during acute liver injury. However, functional in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed no differences in the degree of liver cell death and liver fibrosis as miR-223−/− mice behaved identical with wild-type (wt) mice in all tested models. Conclusion: miR-223 represents a promising diagnostic marker in a panel of serum markers of liver injury. Together with previously published data, our results highlight that the role of miR-223 in the pathophysiology of the liver is complex and needs further analysis.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1492
Author(s):  
Raphael Mohr ◽  
Burcin Özdirik ◽  
Joeri Lambrecht ◽  
Münevver Demir ◽  
Johannes Eschrich ◽  
...  

In almost all cases, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) develops as the endpoint of a sequence that starts with chronic liver injury, progresses to liver cirrhosis, and finally, over years and decades, results in liver cancer. Recently, the role of non-coding RNA such as microRNA (miRNA) has been demonstrated in the context of chronic liver diseases and HCC. Moreover, data from a phase II trial suggested a potential role of microRNAs as therapeutics in hepatitis-C-virus infection, representing a significant risk factor for development of liver cirrhosis and HCC. Despite progress in the clinical management of chronic liver diseases, pharmacological treatment options for patients with liver cirrhosis and/or advanced HCC are still limited. With their potential to regulate whole networks of genes, miRNA might be used as novel therapeutics in these patients but could also serve as biomarkers for improved patient stratification. In this review, we discuss available data on the role of miRNA in the transition from liver cirrhosis to HCC. We highlight opportunities for clinical translation and discuss open issues applicable to future developments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (15) ◽  
pp. 3340
Author(s):  
Koji Fujita ◽  
Tsutomu Masaki

Non-invasive indexes of liver fibrosis based on blood examinations have been developed for decades, partially replacing liver biopsy examinations. Recently, the concept of liver cirrhosis was revised and converted to “compensated advanced chronic liver diseases” since the Baveno VI consensus statement in 2015. The term “compensated advanced chronic liver diseases” was established based on the premise that serum biomarkers were not able to differentiate cirrhosis from severe fibrosis. The difficulty to histologically distinguish cirrhosis from severe fibrosis had been pointed out in 1977, when the definition and nomenclatures of cirrhosis had been determined by the World Health Organization. That was decades before serum biomarkers available at present were investigated. Though we are accustomed to differentiating the fibrosis stage as stage 1, 2, 3 (severe fibrosis), and 4 (cirrhosis), differentiation of cirrhosis from severe fibrosis is difficult even by histopathological examination. The current review will provide readers a framework to revise how to apply serum biomarkers on liver fibrosis staging in an era of the concept of “compensated advanced chronic liver disease”.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Susanto ◽  
Visakha R Irawan

Liver cirrhosis is a condition in which the liver slowly deteriorates and is unable tofunction usually due to chronic, or long lasting, injury. Fibrotic tissue replaces healthy livertissue and partially blocks the flow of blood through the liver. Fibrosis increases liver stiffness.Liver palpation on the early physical examination has been used to assess liver stiffness.Though, palpation has some limitations, such as highly subjective, very operator dependent,and sometimes even impossible to perform. At present, liver biopsy remains the current goldstandard for assessing liver fibrosis, even though the diagnostic accuracy is limited by thespecimen size, invasive procedure, and long duration for getting the result. Elastography is analternative method to liver biopsy in patients with chronic liver disease.Keywords: chronic liver disease, elastography, liver cirrhosis


BMC Medicine ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pek Kei Im ◽  
Iona Y. Millwood ◽  
Christiana Kartsonaki ◽  
Yu Guo ◽  
Yiping Chen ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Alcohol consumption is an important risk factor for hepatic neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases. Questions remain, however, about the relevance to disease risk of drinking patterns and alcohol tolerability, which differ appreciably between Chinese and Western populations. Methods The prospective China Kadoorie Biobank included 512,715 adults (41% men) aged 30–79 years recruited from ten areas during 2004–2008, recording alcohol intake, drinking patterns, and other characteristics. After median 10 years’ follow-up, 2531 incident liver cancer, 2040 liver cirrhosis, 260 alcoholic liver disease (ALD), and 1262 non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) cases were recorded among 492,643 participants without prior cancer or chronic liver disease at baseline. Cox regression was used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR) relating alcohol intake and drinking patterns to each disease. Results Overall, 33% of men and 2% of women drank alcohol regularly (i.e. at least weekly) at baseline. Among male current regular drinkers, alcohol consumption showed positive dose-response associations with risks of several major chronic liver diseases, with HRs per 280 g/week (i.e. around four drinks/day) higher usual alcohol intake of 1.44 (95% CI 1.23–1.69) for liver cancer (n = 547), 1.83 (1.60–2.09) for liver cirrhosis (n = 388), 2.01 (1.77–2.28) for ALD (n = 200), 1.71 (1.35–2.16) for NAFLD (n = 198), and 1.52 (1.40–1.64) for total liver disease (n = 1775). The association with ALD appeared stronger among men reporting flushing (i.e., with low alcohol tolerance). After adjustment for the total amount of weekly alcohol consumption, daily drinkers had significantly increased risk of ALD (2.15, 1.40–3.31) compared with non-daily drinkers, and drinking without meals was associated with significantly greater risks of liver cancer (1.32, 1.01–1.72), liver cirrhosis (1.37, 1.02–1.85), and ALD (1.60, 1.09–2.33) compared with drinking with meals. Female current regular drinkers had significantly higher risk of ALD, but not other liver diseases, than female abstainers. Conclusions In Chinese men, alcohol intake was associated with significantly increased risks of several major chronic liver diseases, and certain drinking patterns (e.g. drinking daily, drinking without meals) may further exacerbate the disease risks.


Author(s):  
S. V. Stolov ◽  
T. Yu. Yamshchikova ◽  
T. A. Garan ◽  
T. A. Kochergina ◽  
Z. D. Schwazman ◽  
...  

Diagnosis of chronic liver diseases in elderly patients has its own features due to polymorbidity, multiple organ failure, being subtle the course of the disease. The purpose of the study was to identify correlations of inflammation biochemical parameters and hepatocellular failure with histology in chronic hepatitis (CH) and liver cirrhosis (LC) in elderly patients. Materials and methods. The study included medical records of patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) who died in the Clinical Hospital for War Veterans of Saint Petersburg between 2009 and 2015 (with the average age of 81 year). The diagnosis of chronic hepatitis (45 cases) and chronic cirrhosis (54 cases) was confirmed by postmortem examination. Morphological changes in the liver were described according to Knodell creteria. The degree of inflammatory activity in the liver was evaluated in points (0.1 to 3.0) depending on the level of AST, ALT, -globulin, alkaline phosphatase, -GTP, bilirubin. For similar scoring severity hepatocellular insufficiency (0.13.0) considered total protein, albumin, prothrombin index, fibrinogen. For cirrhotic patients the Child-Pugh criteria were also used. Results. Chronic liver disease (CLD) hepatitis and cirrhosis of the elderly is detected in 1,5% of cases. In most cases, CLD develop secondary to diseases of the cardiovascular system, and are accompanied by subtle symptoms, which limits their life-time diagnosis. The integral evaluation of the process activity degree according to biochemical indices was significantly higher in the group of chronic hepatitis than in the group of liver cirrhosis. Correlations of the inflammation bichemical parameters (AST and / or ALT, -globulin, alkaline phosphatase, -GTP) having a degree of Knodell Histological Activity Group chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis have not been established. The study established correlation of histological activity with total bilirubin levels in both groups of CLD. Integral assessment of hepatocellular deficiency by biochemical indicators of liver cirrhosis group was higher than in the group of chronic hepatitis.


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