Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease and the Gut Microbiota

As an important sequela of the burgeoning global obesity problem, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) has gained increasing prominence recently. The gut–liver axis (GLA) provides a direct conduit to the liver for the gut microbiota and their metabolic by-products (including secondary bile acids , ethanol, and trimethylamine). These GLA-related factors, including the host inflammatory response and integrity of the gut mucosal wall, likely contribute to the pathogenesis of MAFLD. Accordingly, these GLA-related factors are targets for possible preventive and treatment strategies for MAFLD, and include probiotics , prebiotics , bile acids, short-chain fatty acids, fecal microbiota transplantation , carbon nanoparticles , and bacteriophages.