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Significant decrease in Faecalibacterium among gut microbiota in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a large BMI- and sex-matched population study

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Abstract

Background

Compositional changes of the gut microbiota are known to occur in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, the changes did not corroborate between the studies. We evaluated the gut microbiota between NAFLD and non-NAFLD participants, excluding the influence of obesity and sex in this study involving a large number of participants.

Methods

In total, 1148 adults participated in the health survey. NAFLD was defined as fatty liver by ultrasonography in the absence of other causes of steatosis. To exclude the influence of obesity and sex, NAFLD participants were matched to non-NAFLD participants based on BMI and sex. The relative abundance of each bacterial taxa in fecal samples was calculated using 16S ribosomal RNA amplification and was compared between NAFLD and non-NAFLD participants.

Results

There were 205 (23.5%) participants defined as having NAFLD. Before matching, there were significant differences in the relative abundance of more than 1% in two classes, two orders, three families, and three genera including Faecalibacterium between NAFLD and non-NAFLD participants. After matching, 153 matched pairs were obtained. In terms of the relative abundance of more than 1%, the relative abundance of two taxa, including the family Ruminococcaceae and the genus Faecalibacterium, was significantly lower in NAFLD participants than in non-NAFLD participants (p = 0.016 and p = 0.018).

Conclusions

The significant decrease in Faecalibacterium is a remarkable characteristic on BMI- and sex-matched analysis in NAFLD participants in a large study population. The decrease in Faecalibacterium is related to the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

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Abbreviations

AST:

Aspartate aminotransferase

ALT:

Alanine aminotransferase

BMI:

Body mass index

HbA1c:

Hemoglobin A1c

HOMA-IR:

Homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance

LPS:

Lipopolysaccharides

NAFLD:

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

NASH:

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

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Acknowledgements

This study was based on the Iwaki Health Promotion Project as a project by Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, in collaboration with Aomori Heath Evaluation and Promotion Center and Hirosaki City Office, Department of Health Promotion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, 5 Zaifu-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8562, Japan

    Chikara Iino, Tetsu Endo, Takuma Hasegawa, Masayo Kimura, Naoya Sawada & Shinsaku Fukuda

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Owani Hospital, 5-3 Hagurokan, Owani, 038-0292, Japan

    Kenichiro Mikami

  3. Department of Social Medicine, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Nanto-cho, Hirosaki, 036-8562, Japan

    Shigeyuki Nakaji

Authors
  1. Chikara Iino
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  2. Tetsu Endo
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  3. Kenichiro Mikami
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  4. Takuma Hasegawa
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  5. Masayo Kimura
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  7. Shigeyuki Nakaji
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Correspondence to Chikara Iino.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Hirosaki University Medical Ethics Committee.

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Written informed consent was obtained from all participants.

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Iino, C., Endo, T., Mikami, K. et al. Significant decrease in Faecalibacterium among gut microbiota in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a large BMI- and sex-matched population study. Hepatol Int 13, 748–756 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12072-019-09987-8

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