Journal of Clinical Hepatology
This article studies the gut microbiota characteristics of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) complicated by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, revealing the impact of HP infection on the intestinal microecology of NAFLD patients. Through high-throughput sequencing analysis of fecal samples from four groups (healthy controls, HP group, NAFLD group, NAFLD combined with HP group), it was found that the gut microbiota diversity in the NAFLD combined with HP group decreased, with the phylum Firmicutes accounting for the highest proportion (59.94%), followed by a significant increase in the proportion of Proteobacteria and the lowest abundance of Actinobacteria. At the genus level, Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium were significantly reduced, while Escherichia-Shigella, Streptococcus, and Ruminococcus gnavus_group were significantly increased, indicating a more severe dysbiosis. Compared with the NAFLD group, the abundance of multiple genera in the combined HP group changed significantly, suggesting that HP infection may exacerbate the intestinal microbiota disorder in NAFLD patients. The innovation lies in the first systematic comparison of the changes in gut microbiota structure under the co-morbidity of NAFLD and HP, and the functional pathway analysis shows that pathways such as peptidase metabolism and insulin signaling are impaired, providing a microbiological basis for the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The study also speculates that the reduction of Bifidobacterium leads to insufficient production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), promoting liver lipid accumulation, revealing potential intervention targets.
This study reveals the characteristic changes in the gut microbiota of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) complicated by Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection, which has important clinical and scientific research significance. The study found that the intestinal microbiota disorder in patients with NAFLD complicated by HP was more significant, with a significant decrease in the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium, while Streptococcus, Escherichia-Shigella, and Ruminococcus gnavus_group, etc., as potential pathogenic bacteria, were significantly increased. In particular, the reduction of Bifidobacterium was most prominent in the combined group, suggesting that HP infection may exacerbate the intestinal microbiota disorder in NAFLD patients. This genus can regulate lipid metabolism by producing short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), and its reduction may lead to liver lipid accumulation, promoting the progression of NAFLD. In addition, the study identifies marker species with significant differences between groups through LEfSe analysis, combined with KEGG pathway prediction, providing a basis for understanding the metabolic mechanisms of gut microbiota in the interaction between NAFLD and HP. The results suggest that regulating the gut microbiota may be a new strategy for intervening in NAFLD complicated by HP infection, which has guiding significance for probiotic treatment and individualized management.
Objective: To investigate the features and mechanism of action of intestinal flora in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease...
