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Updated: Jan 5, 2026
An Advanced Murine Model for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Association with Type 2 Diabetes
Published on: April 26, 2019
Relationship between Streptococcus mutans expressing Cnm in the oral cavity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a
Shuichi Tonomura1, Shuhei Naka2, Keiko Tabata2
1Department of Neurology, Nara City Hospital, Nara, Japan.
Background:
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a severe state of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which is pathologically characterised by steatosis, hepatocyte ballooning, and lobular inflammation. Host-microbial interaction has gained attention as one of the risk factors for NASH. Recently, cnm-gene positive Streptococcus mutans expressing cell surface collagen-binding protein, Cnm (cnm-positive S. mutans), was shown to aggravate NASH in model mice. Here, we assessed the detection rate of cnm-positive S. mutans in oral samples from patients with NASH among NAFLD.
Methods:
This single hospital cohort study included 41 patients with NAFLD. NASH was diagnosed histologically or by clinical score. The prevalence of cnm-positive S. mutans, oral hygiene and blood tests, including liver enzymes, adipocytokines and inflammatory and fibrosis markers, were assessed in biopsy-proven or clinically suspected NASH among NAFLD.
Results:
Prevalence of cnm-positive S. mutans was significantly higher in patients with NASH than patients without NASH (OR 3.8; 95% CI 1.02 to 15.5). The cnm-positive S. mutans was related to decreased numbers of naturally remaining teeth and increased type IV collagen 7S level (median (IQR) 10.0 (5.0-17.5) vs 20.0 (5.0-25.0), p=0.06; 5.1 (4.0-7.9) vs 4.4 (3.7-5.3), p=0.13, respectively).
Conclusions:
Prevalence of cnm-positive S. mutans in the oral cavity could be related to fibrosis of NASH among NAFLD.
