AUTHOR=Yang Xing , Mai Huanzhuo , Zhou Jie , Li Zhuoxin , Wang Qing , Lan Liuyan , Lu Fang , Yang Xiping , Guo Baodong , Ye Li , Cui Ping , Liang Hao , Huang Jiegang 

TITLE=Alterations of the gut microbiota associated with the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2023.1119875

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2023.1119875

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Gut microbiota is the largest population of microorganisms and is closely related to health. Many studies have explored changes in gut microbiota in viral hepatitis. However, the correlation between gut microbiota and the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis has not been fully clarified.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>PubMed and BioProject databases were searched for studies about viral hepatitis disease and 16S rRNA gene sequencing of gut microbiota up to January 2023. With bioinformatics analyses, we explored changes in microbial diversity of viral hepatitis, screened out crucial bacteria and microbial functions related to viral hepatitis, and identified the potential microbial markers for predicting risks for the occurrence and progression of viral hepatitis based on ROC analysis.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Of the 1389 records identified, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria, with 950 individuals including 656 patient samples (HBV, <italic>n</italic> = 546; HCV, <italic>n</italic> = 86; HEV, <italic>n</italic> = 24) and 294 healthy controls. Gut microbial diversity is significantly decreased as the infection and progression of viral hepatitis. Alpha diversity and microbiota including <italic>Butyricimonas</italic>, <italic>Escherichia-Shigella</italic>, <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, and <italic>Veillonella</italic> were identified as the potential microbial markers for predicting the risk of development of viral hepatitis (AUC&gt;0.7). Microbial functions including tryptophan metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and lipid metabolism related to the microbial community increased significantly as the development of viral hepatitis.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>This study demonstrated comprehensively the gut microbiota characteristics in viral hepatitis, screened out crucial microbial functions related to viral hepatitis, and identified the potential microbial markers for predicting the risk of viral hepatitis.</p></sec>