Commentary
NAFLD pathophysiology has been linked to lower microbial diversity and a weakened intestinal barrier, exposing the host to bacterial components and stimulating pathways of immune defence and inflammation via toll-like receptor signaling. Moreover, this activation of inflammation in hepatocytes induces progression from simple steatosis to NASH.
In the present review, J. Plaza-Diaz et al. (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, Canada, School of Pharmacy, University of Granada, and Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, Spain) aim to summarise studies about alterations in gut microbiota in NASH, evaluate their potential role as prognosis and diagnosis biomarkers, and discuss the involvement of microbiota in the current treatment for NAFLD/NASH.
