Lower gut bacteria diversity and more inflammation-linked Collinsella are linked to confirmed nonalcoholic fatty liver inflammation

Patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) show a 7% lower gut microbial diversity compared to healthy controls.

• NASH patients without cirrhosis exhibit a Shannon alpha diversity of 2.7x10, while those with cirrhosis have a diversity of 5.0x10.
• Beta diversity is significantly reduced in both NASH and NASH-cirrhosis groups.
• A specific microbial genus is found to be significantly more abundant in NASH patients, rising from 0.29% in controls to 3.45% in those without cirrhosis and 4.38% in those with cirrhosis.
• This abundant genus is positively correlated with higher fasting triglycerides and total cholesterol and negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
• Decreased levels of certain beneficial microbes that produce short-chain fatty acids are observed in NASH patients, which may contribute to inflammation.

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