Fecal Fungi Dysbiosis in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Objective Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) can systematically harm more aspects of human health than just the liver. In addition to the potential roles of the gut microbiota in NAFLD, commensal fungi can functionally replace intestinal bacteria in maintaining the host immune response in the gut by reversing disease susceptibility. Therefore, gut commensal fungi should be studied to help understand NAFLD. Methods The fungal compositions of 79 patients with NAFLD and 34 matched healthy subjects were studied via internal transcribed spacer sequencing. In the NAFLD group, 32 patients underwent liver biopsies to evaluate the associations between gut fungi and NAFLD development. Results The fungal microbiota distribution was skewed in the patients with NAFLD. The relative abundances of Talaromyces, Paraphaeosphaeria, Lycoperdon, Curvularia, Phialemoniopsis, Paraboeremia, Sarcinomyces, Cladophialophora, and Sordaria were higher in patients with NAFLD, whereas the abundances of Leptosphaeria, Pseudopithomyces, and Fusicolla were decreased. Patients with NAFLD exhibited more co-occurring fungal intrakingdom correlations. Several fungi were found to be associated with liver injury, lipid metabolism, and the development of NAFLD. Conclusions This study found that gut fungi may play some roles in NAFLD development. Research on gut fungi may be of great value in diagnosing and monitoring NAFLD.