Breaking Barriers: Gut Pathobionts Promote Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Although studies of microbiota in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and possible involvement of the gut-liver axis are of significant interest, the origin and functional role of the liver and intratumoral microbiota in HCC have remained unclear. Liu and colleagues show that gut pathobionts, in particular Bacteroides fragilis, translocate through the gut-liver axis, colonize and reshape the intrahepatic microbiome, and promote HCC through a distinct mechanism in which bacterial enolase binds hepatocyte vimentin, revealing potential therapeutic opportunities. See related article by Liu et al., p. 2392.