Patients with low muscle mass have characteristic microbiome with low potential for amino acid synthesis in chronic liver disease

Sarcopenia is thought to be related to the microbiome, but not enough reports in chronic liver disease (CLD) patients. In addition to the differences in microbiome, the role of the microbiome in the gut is also important to be clarified because it has recently been shown that the microbiome may produce branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the body. In this single-center study, sixty-nine CLD patients were divided by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) into low (L-SMI: n = 25) and normal (N-SMI: n = 44). Microbiome was analyzed from stool samples based on V3-4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA). L-SMI had a lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio than N-SMI. At the genus level, Coprobacillus, Catenibacterium and Clostridium were also lower while the Bacteroides was higher. Predictive functional profiling of the L-SMI group showed that genes related to nitrogen metabolism were enriched, but those related to amino acid metabolism, including BCAA biosynthesis, were lower. The genes related to 'LPS biosynthesis' was also higher. The microbiome of CLD patients with low muscle mass is characterized not only by high relative abundance of gram-negative bacteria with LPS, but also by the possibility of low potential for amino acid synthesis including BCAAs.

Automated summary

This study found a correlation between sarcopenia and the microbiome in patients with chronic liver disease. The microbiome in patients with low skeletal muscle mass showed differences compared to the normal muscle mass group, with a potential decrease in amino acid synthesis. This finding is important for the recovery of patients with liver disease.