Satya Priya Sharma, Haripriya Gupta, Goo-Hyun Kwon, Sang Yoon Lee, Seol Hee Song, Jeoung Su Kim, Jeong Ha Park, Min Ju Kim, Dong-Hoon Yang, Hyunjoon Park, Sung-Min Won, Jin-Ju Jeong, Ki-Kwang Oh, Jung A Eom, Kyeong Jin Lee, Sang Jun Yoon, Young Lim Ham, Gwang Ho Baik, Dong Joon Kim, Ki Tae Suk
Clin Mol Hepatol 2024;30(4):845-862. Published online July 25, 2024
Background/Aims Shifts in the gut microbiota and metabolites are interrelated with liver cirrhosis progression and complications. However, causal relationships have not been evaluated comprehensively. Here, we identified complication-dependent gut microbiota and metabolic signatures in patients with liver cirrhosis.
Methods Microbiome taxonomic profiling was performed on 194 stool samples (52 controls and 142 cirrhosis patients) via V3-V4 16S rRNA sequencing. Next, 51 samples (17 controls and 34 cirrhosis patients) were selected for fecal metabolite profiling via gas chromatography mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Correlation analyses were performed targeting the gut-microbiota, metabolites, clinical parameters, and presence of complications (varices, ascites, peritonitis, encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, hepatocellular carcinoma, and deceased).
Results Veillonella bacteria, Ruminococcus gnavus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae are cirrhosis-related microbiotas compared with control group. Bacteroides ovatus, Clostridium symbiosum, Emergencia timonensis, Fusobacterium varium, and Hungatella_uc were associated with complications in the cirrhosis group. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCs) for the diagnosis of cirrhosis, encephalopathy, hepatorenal syndrome, and deceased were 0.863, 0.733, 0.71, and 0.69, respectively. The AUROCs of mixed microbial species for the diagnosis of cirrhosis and complication were 0.808 and 0.847, respectively. According to the metabolic profile, 5 increased fecal metabolites in patients with cirrhosis were biomarkers (AUROC >0.880) for the diagnosis of cirrhosis and complications. Clinical markers were significantly correlated with the gut microbiota and metabolites.
Conclusions Cirrhosis-dependent gut microbiota and metabolites present unique signatures that can be used as noninvasive biomarkers for the diagnosis of cirrhosis and its complications.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Microbial Biomarkers for the Prevention and Diagnosis of Alcoholic Liver Disease Goo Hyun Kwon, Hyunjoon Park, Hyeong Seop Kim, Ki Kwang Oh, Jung A Eom, Kyeong Jin Lee, Min Ju Kim, Minsoo Kim, Jeong Su Kim, Sang Hak Han, Young Lim Ham, Ki Tae Suk Microorganisms.2026; 14(2): 449. CrossRef
Strain Diversity in the Human Microbiome: Personal Variation, Pathobionts, Therapeutics, and Methodological Challenges Hyunjoon Park, Jung Soo Kim, Dong Joon Kim, Ki Tae Suk Microorganisms.2026; 14(3): 720. CrossRef
Glycoursodeoxycholic acid regulates peritoneal monocytic myeloid-derived suppressor cells to alleviate systemic inflammation in decompensated cirrhosis Rui Wang, Binghong Wang, Bo Li, Jun Zhang, Yikang Li, Chenyi Jiang, Peixuan Ji, Ruqi Tang, Zhengrui You, Xiao Xiao, Canjie Guo, Qi Miao, Jing Hua, Hai Li, Suraj Timilsina, M. Eric Gershwin, Qixia Wang, Xiong Ma, Min Lian Journal of Autoimmunity.2026; 160: 103554. CrossRef
Associations between changes in the gut microbiota and liver cirrhosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis Ye Liu, Ziwei Chen, Chang Li, Tianhan Sun, Xuanmei Luo, Boyue Jiang, Meilan Liu, Qing Wang, Tong Li, Jianfu Cao, Yayu Li, Yuan Chen, Lu Kuai, Fei Xiao, Hongtao Xu, Hongyuan Cui BMC Gastroenterology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Study on the Influence of Intestinal Flora on the Pathogenesis and Treatment Strategy of Related Complications of Liver Cirrhosis 莎 王 Advances in Clinical Medicine.2025; 15(04): 2009. CrossRef
Multi-omics reveals the associations among the fecal metabolome, intestinal bacteria, and serum indicators in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma Jing Feng, Jun-Ping Wang, Jian-Ran Hu, Ping Li, Pin Lv, Hu-Cheng He, Xiao-Wei Cheng, Zheng Cao, Jia-Jing Han, Qiang Wang, Qian Su, Li-Xin Liu World Journal of Gastroenterology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
The crosstalk between gut microbiota and microbiota-derived metabolites in hepatocellular carcinoma Sang Jun Yoon, Seul Ki Han, Tae Suk Kim, Ki Tae Suk, Dae Hee Choi, Young Don Kim, Moon Young Kim, Gab Jin Cheon, Soon Koo Baik, Dong Joon Kim Critical Reviews in Microbiology.2025; 51(6): 1315. CrossRef
The role of bacterial outer membrane vesicles in inflammatory response of acute-on-chronic liver failure Xiaojing Qin, Shuang Wang, Zhanyao Yan, Ninghui Zhao, Jia Yao Frontiers in Microbiology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Gut-Liver Axis: The Role of Intestinal Microbiota and Their Metabolites in the Progression of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease Chao Cui, Shuai Gao, Jingfei Shi, Kai Wang Gut and Liver.2025; 19(4): 479. CrossRef
Phocaeicola dorei
ameliorates progression of steatotic liver disease by regulating bile acid, lipid, inflammation and proliferation
Jieun Choi, Ye Rin Choi, Min Kyo Jeong, Hyun Ho Song, Jeong Seok Yu, Seol Hui Song, Jeong Ha Park, Min Ju Kim, Hyunjoon Park, Young Lim Ham, Sang Hak Han, Dong Joon Kim, Do Yup Lee, Ki Tae Suk Gut Microbes.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Validation of combo ichroma as a reliable concentration-based alternative for AST and ALT measurement in liver disease monitoring Minsoo Kim, Su A Kim, Jeong Min Kim, Hee Young Kim, Ho Yeong Yoon, Sung Won Park, Daegyun Park, Ji Sook Han, Ki Tae Suk Methods.2025; 243: 66. CrossRef
Prognostic Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acid-Producing Gut Microbiota and Gut Microbial Dynamics in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma Receiving Chemoembolization: A Prospective Study Jiwon Yang, Jihye Lim, Eun Hye Kim, Jihyun An, Danbi Lee, Han Chu Lee, Jin-Yong Jeong, Ju Hyun Shim Journal of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.2025; Volume 12: 1991. CrossRef
Probiotic-Derived Strain-Specific Metabolites Ameliorate Metabolic Dysfunction–Associated Steatotic Liver Disease through Modulation of the Gut-Liver Axis Sang Jun Yoon, Jieun Choi, Sung-Min Won, Jeong Seok Yu, Hee Young Kim, Hyun Chae Joung, In Gyu Park, Jung A Eom, Sang Hak Han, Do Yup Lee, Ki Tae Suk Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Phocaeicola plebeius oral treatment improve fibrosis by reversing cirrhosis-related hepatic gene dysregulation Satya Priya Sharma, Min-Gi Cha, Goo-Hyun Kwon, Seol Hee Song, Jeong Ha Park, Min Ju Kim, Jung A Eom, Kyeong Jin Lee, Sang Jun Yoon, Hyunjoon Park, Sung-Min Won, Ki-Kwang Oh, Young Lim Ham, Gwang Ho Baik, Dong Joon Kim, Ki Tae Suk Life Sciences.2025; 381: 123979. CrossRef
Gut microbiome and its metabolites in liver cirrhosis: mechanisms and clinical implications Luyuan Chang, Yang Liu, Haipeng Li, Jiaqi Yan, Wenzong Wu, Nuo Chen, Chunyu Ma, Xinyi Zhao, Juan Chen, Jing Zhang Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Gut microbiota involvement in the alteration of inflammatory cell infiltration and gut barrier integrity in liver cirrhosis Kaiduan Xie, Yiwang Zhang, Shuyan Tan, Jiajie Luo, Xingtong Ou, Siwei Tan Biomedical Reports.2025; 23(6): 1. CrossRef
Intestinal congestion-driven gut dysbiosis: a cross-disease hemodynamic mechanism in liver cirrhosis and heart failure Yan Wang, Zhongyuan Bai, Jing Sun, Qi Gong, Wentao Miao, Zhiqiang Niu, Xiang Li, Jun Xu, Zhiyong Lai Journal of Translational Medicine.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Research Progress on the Relationship between Gut Microbiota and Metabolites and Hepatitis B-Related Liver Disease 欢 何 Advances in Clinical Medicine.2024; 14(11): 316. CrossRef
A blueprint of synergistic effect in Ilex Cornuta stems and gut microbiota against Crohn's disease via systems biology concept Oh Ki-Kwang, Lee Sang Youn, Kwon Goo-Hyun, Eom Jung-A, Lee Kyeong Jin, Kim Dong Joon, Suk Ki-Tae Food Bioscience.2024; 62: 105530. CrossRef
Etiology-Dependent Microbiome Differences in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Development Nevena Todorovic, Serena Martinelli, Giulia Nannini, Ralf Weiskirchen, Amedeo Amedei International Journal of Molecular Sciences.2024; 25(24): 13510. CrossRef