학술논문
Low-diversity microbiota and an increased metabolism of arginine and aromatic amino acids: a hallmark of hepatic encephalopathy in western Mexican patients with alcohol-associated cirrhosis.
Document Type
Article
Author
Source
Subject
*HEPATIC encephalopathy
*MEXICANS
*AMINO acids
*ARGININE
*SHORT-chain fatty acids
*CIRRHOSIS of the liver
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Language
ISSN
1364-5072
Abstract
Aims To evaluate the composition and functions of the gut microbiota in patients with decompensated alcohol-associated cirrhosis, with and without hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Methods and results Faecal samples from 31 inpatients (20 with HE, 11 without HE), and from 18 age-balanced healthy controls (HC), were included. Microbial composition was determined by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and analysed using QIIME2. Metabolic pathways were inferred by PICRUSt2, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) quantification was performed by gas chromatography. The gut microbiota of patients with HE was characterized by a diminished α-diversity, compared to no-HE (P < 0.01) and HC (P < 0.001) groups; β-diversity also differed between HE vs no-HE patients (P < 0.05), and between HE vs HC (P < 0.001). In patients with HE, Escherichia / Shigella , Burkholderiales and Lactobacillales taxa predominated. In contrast, patients without HE were characterized by Veillonella and Bacteroides. Reduced levels of faecal SCFAs in both groups correlated with a depletion of beneficial taxa, such as Ruminococcus or Faecalibacterium. PICRUSt2 analysis showed both an enhanced catabolism of arginine through ammonia-producing pathways and chorismate biosynthesis in HE patients, a key precursor of aromatic amino acids. Conclusions The gut microbiota of HE patients exhibits a proinflammatory dysbiotic profile, plus metabolic pathways that produce potentially neurotoxic byproducts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]