Microbial treatment of alcoholic liver disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Background and aimsAlcoholic liver disease (ALD) is characterized by impaired liver function due to chronic alcohol consumption, even fatal in severe cases. We performed a meta-analysis to determine whether microbial agents have therapeutic potential for ALD and elucidate the underlying mechanisms.Methods and resultsForty-one studies were eligible for this meta-analysis after searching the PubMed, Cochrane, and Embase databases. The combined analysis showed that microbial therapy significantly decreased hepatic enzymatic parameters, including alanine transaminase [standardized mean difference (SMD): –2.70, 95% confidence interval (CI): –3.33 to –2.07], aspartate aminotransferase (SMD: –3.37, 95% CI: –4.25 to –2.49), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (SMD: -2.07, 95% CI: –3.01 to –1.12), and alkaline phosphatase (SMD: –2.12, 95% CI: –3.32 to –0.92). Microbial agents endotoxin to enter the portal circulation and increasing reduced total cholesterol (SMD = -2.75, 95%CI -4.03 to -1.46) and triglycerides (SMD = –2.64, 95% CI: –3.22 to –2.06). Microbial agents increased amounts of the beneficial flora Lactobacillus (SMD: 4.40, 95% CI: 0.97–7.84) and Bifidobacteria (SMD: 3.84, 95% CI: 0.22–7.45), Bacteroidetes (SMD: 2.51, 95% CI: 0.29–4.72) and decreased harmful Proteobacteria (SMD: –4.18, 95% CI: –6.60 to –1.77), protecting the integrity of the intestinal epithelium and relieving endotoxin (SMD: –2.70, 95% CI: -3.52 to –2.17) into the portal vein, thereby reducing the production of inflammatory factors such as tumor necrosis factor-α (SMD: –3.35, 95% CI: –4.31 to –2.38), interleukin-6 (SMD: –4.28, 95% CI: –6.13 to –2.43), and interleukin-1β (SMD: –4.28, 95% CI: –6.37 to –2.19). Oxidative stress was also relieved, as evidenced by decreased malondialdehyde levels (SMD: –4.70, 95% CI: –6.21 to –3.20). Superoxide dismutase (SMD: 2.65, 95% CI: 2.16–3.15) and glutathione levels (SMD: 3.80, 95% CI: 0.95–6.66) were elevated.ConclusionMicrobial agents can reverse dysbiosis in ALD, thus significantly interfering with lipid metabolism, relieving inflammatory response and inhibiting oxidative stress to improve liver function.

The Role of Oral Nitrate-Reducing Bacteria in the Prevention of Caries: A Review Related to Caries and Nitrate Metabolism

“…The urease activity of A. naeslundii is enhanced in acidic environments, and a large amount of ammonia can be produced to buffer the pH because NH 3 can take up 1 proton. Numerous cross-sectional studies have found that caries-free individuals show a higher arginine deiminase system activity than caries-active individuals [Reyes et al, 2014;Moncada et al, 2015;Nascimento et al, 2019;Wang et al, 2022] and produce more ammonia, which further supports the hypothesis that alkali production by oral bacteria may prevent the development of caries. In addition, some nitrate-reducing bacteria such as Veillonella and Neisseria are able to metabolize lactic acid into weaker acids such as pyruvate and acetate [Hoshino and Araya, 1980;Min et al, 1992;Wicaksono et al, 2020], and the degradation of lactic acid can also mitigate the decline of pH, reduce the caries-causing activity of dental plaque, and facilitate the growth of non-acid-resistant bacteria.…”

Portable, Intelligent Fluorescence Sensing Platform for Dense Convolutional Network-Capable Detection of Indophenol Sulfate and Methylmalonic Acid Using a Luminescent Eu@HOF Film

“…More importantly, the concentrations of IS in CKD and uremic patients are 10 and 100 μM, respectively . For MMA, 50 μM is found for patients with DPN . Since the DLs of IS and MMA are far lower than the danger level of uremic and DPN patients, 2 can quantitatively detect IS and MMA within the physiological range below the danger level, which has great significance for predicting the occurrence, monitoring the development, and slowing down the deterioration of the disease.…”

“…50 For MMA, 50 μM is found for patients with DPN. 51 Since the DLs of IS and MMA are far lower than the danger level of uremic and DPN patients, 2 can quantitatively detect IS and MMA within the physiological range below the danger level, which has great significance for predicting the occurrence, monitoring the development, and slowing down the deterioration of the disease. Furthermore, under a 310 nm UV lamp, the fluorescence images of 2 gradually changes from the bright red light of Eu 3+ ions to blue light in the concentration from 10 −5 to 5 × 10 −3 M of IS, which can be clearly observed in Figure S34.…”

A Meta-Analysis of Preclinical Studies to Investigate the Effect of Panax ginseng on Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease

“…In addition, metabolized acetaldehyde can change the mitochondrial structure and decrease adenosine triphosphate generation, thereby producing ROS, which mediates protein adducts and neoantigens in the inflammatory response [ 4 , 52 ]. Despite these pathologic mechanisms regarding ALD, there is a lack of recent study arrangements or reviews targeting alcohol-induced steatosis and inflammation, except for the effect of microbial treatment on the disease, published in 2022 [ 53 ].…”