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Hepatoprotective Potential of Bacteroides eggerthii on Fatty Liver Disease: A Mouse Model Study
Li-Wei Chen1, I-Wen Wu2, Tzu-Chien Cheng3
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Keelung, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Background/Aim:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is a significant global health burden, with increasing evidence pointing to gut microbiota as a modifiable contributor to disease pathogenesis. Yet, the causality of gut microbiota in liver health is not fully established. This study aimed to clarify a causal relationship of specific gut microbes with MASLD.
Materials And Methods:
In this pre-clinical study, we assessed the hepatoprotective potential of Bacteroides eggerthii (B. eggerthii), a gut commensal bacterium, in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mouse model of MASLD.
Results:
Our in vivo experiments showed that mice given with HFD exhibited prominent metabolic abnormalities, intestinal dysbiosis, liver steatosis, and drivers of pathological changes in the livers (autophagic dysregulation and lipid peroxidation). Oral supplementation with a strain of B. eggerthii that was isolated from the fecal specimen of a healthy subject improved the perturbation of fecal microbiota and mitigated lipid peroxidation and lobular inflammation in the liver of MASLD mice, without ameliorating hyperlipidemic conditions and hepatic steatosis.
Conclusion:
B. eggerthii may potentially protect against diet-induced fatty liver diseases and further extend our understanding on the gut-liver axis in MASLD.
Insights
Bacteroides eggerthii supplementation may protect against diet-induced fatty liver disease by mitigating liver inflammation and lipid peroxidation. This study explores the gut-liver axis in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- Microbiology
Background:
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously NAFLD, is a growing global health concern.
- Gut microbiota alterations are increasingly implicated in MASLD pathogenesis.
- The causal role of specific gut microbes in MASLD remains to be fully elucidated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the hepatoprotective effects of *Bacteroides eggerthii* in a mouse model of MASLD.
- To clarify the causal relationship between specific gut microbes and liver health in MASLD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced mouse model to simulate MASLD.
- Administered oral supplementation of *Bacteroides eggerthii* isolated from healthy individuals.
- Assessed metabolic parameters, gut microbiota composition, and liver pathology.
Main Results:
- HFD-induced mice displayed metabolic abnormalities, dysbiosis, liver steatosis, autophagic dysregulation, and lipid peroxidation.
- *Bacteroides eggerthii* supplementation improved gut microbiota perturbations.
- Supplementation mitigated liver lipid peroxidation and lobular inflammation, but did not resolve hyperlipidemia or hepatic steatosis.
Conclusions:
- *Bacteroides eggerthii* demonstrates potential hepatoprotective properties against diet-induced fatty liver disease.
- Findings contribute to understanding the gut-liver axis in MASLD.
- Further research into *B. eggerthii* as a therapeutic target is warranted.
