Research

Hormonal

Gut-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) translocate across a dysfunctional intestinal barrier into the portal circulation, where they activate the TLR4 signaling pathway in liver cells, driving inflammation and fibrosis in NAFLD and ALD.

For individuals with fatty liver disease, the health of the gut barrier is directly linked to liver inflammation. Maintaining gut integrity through a balanced diet (like the Mediterranean diet) and potentially using targeted therapies (like probiotics or IAP) may help reduce liver damage by preventing harmful bacterial products (LPS) from entering the bloodstream and triggering liver inflammation.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Gut dysbiosis and gut barrier dysfunction both contribute to chronic liver disease by abnormal regulation of the gut-liver axis. Thereby, gut-derived lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are a key factor in inducing the inflammatory response of liver tissue. LPS plays an important role in conducting liver damage through the LPS-TLR4 signaling pathway.
Lingxuan An et al. · Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery · 2021

Why this rating

The paper is a review citing multiple human and animal studies, establishing strong associative and mechanistic evidence, though direct causal intervention trials are noted as needing further investigation.

Source

The Role of Gut-Derived Lipopolysaccharides and the Intestinal Barrier in Fatty Liver Diseases

Lingxuan An et al. · Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery · 2021

DOI 10.1007/s11605-021-05188-7

narrative_reviewCited 251×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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