Microbiome in Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases

Urged on by ever-evolving evaluation in analytical methodology, the microbiome, and the gut microbiome in specific, has become the hot topic in biomedical research. Inventing  experiments in animal models have divulge, the extent to which the gut microbiota sustains health and how its disruption might contribute to disease pathogenesis.

Myriad of  liver disorders such as alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic liver disease and primary sclerosing cholangitis have been related with an altered microbiome. This dysbiosis may affect the degree of hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis through multiple interactions with the host's immune system and other cell types. Whereas few results from clinical metagenomic studies in liver disease are accessible, evidence is assembling that in liver cirrhosis an oral microbiome is over represented in the lower intestinal tract, potentially contributing to disease process and severity. A major role for the gut microbiota in liver disorders is also supported by the accumulating evidence that several complications of severe liver disease such as hepatic encephalopathy are efficiently treated by various prebiotics, probiotics and antibiotics. A better comprehension of the gut microbiota and its components in liver diseases might furnish a more complete picture of these complex disorders and also form the basis for novel therapies.