News desk: The University of Missouri School of Medicine has discovered a link between high-fat, high-sugar Western diets and the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the leading cause of chronic liver disease.

The study, conducted at MU’s Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health Building, identified the western diet-induced microbial and metabolic contributors to liver disease, advancing our understanding of the gut-liver axis and, as a result, the development of dietary and microbial interventions for this global health threat. “We’re just beginning to understand how food and gut microbiota interact to produce metabolites that contribute to the development of liver disease,” said co-principal investigator, Guangfu Li, PhD, DVM, associate professor in the department of surgery and Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology.

“However, the specific bacteria and metabolites, as well as the underlying mechanisms were not well understood until now. This research is unlocking the how and why.”

The gut and liver have a close anatomical and functional connection via the portal vein. Unhealthy diets change the gut microbiota, resulting in the production of pathogenic factors that impact the liver. By feeding mice foods high in fat and sugar, the research team discovered that the mice developed a gut bacteria called Blautia producta and a lipid that caused liver inflammation and fibrosis.

That, in turn, caused the mice to develop non-alcoholic steatohepatitis or fatty liver disease, with similar features to human disease.