Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and the gut microbiome: Are bacteria responsible for fatty liver?

Over the last several years, a growing body of literature has linked the gut microbiome to human health and diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This paper will review the current literature investigating the influence of diets associated with metabolic disorders on the microbiome and how those changes promote susceptibility to metabolic disorders. It will then focus in-depth on the role of the gut microbiome in NAFLD. The review will highlight associations of microbial composition and function with progression of NAFLD in patients and discuss potential mechanisms that link the gut microbiome to NAFLD. Finally, it will address limitations of existing studies along with future directions for microbiome research in NAFLD, including potential microbe-related treatments. Impact statement