Diet and gut microbiome in fatty liver and its associated liver cancer

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the major cause of chronic liver disease worldwide as a consequence of a sedentary lifestyle and overnutrition. NAFLD could progress to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which may further develop to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The gut microbiome is one of the central regulators in host metabolism. Diet could change human gut microbiome rapidly and reproducibly and modulate several metabolic pathways. Both diet and gut microbiome dysbiosis are associated with NAFLD and its related HCC (NAFLD-HCC). Dietary cholesterol, fiber, fat, or carbohydrate could change the microbiome composition to contribute to the development of NASH and NAFLD-HCC. Hence, identification of elements of the gut–liver axis that are primarily damaged in NASH and NAFLD-HCC offers new possibility for therapeutic intervention. In this review, the roles of gut microbiome and microbial metabolites in the development and progression of NAFLD and NAFLD-HCC are first discussed. The impacts of different diet compositions including cholesterol, fiber, fat, and sugar on the gut microbiome that leads to predisposition to NASH and NAFLD-HCC are also explored. We summarized the article by discussing potential therapeutic implication of diet and microbiome modulation in fatty liver and liver cancer.