Quantitative Analysis of Relationship Between Gut Flora Dysbiosis and Severity of Liver Cirrhosis / 胃肠病学

ABSTRACT

Background: The incidence of liver cirrhosis is increasing year by year in China. Decompensated liver cirrhosis and its related complications seriously threaten people's health. Aims: To investigate the changes of gut flora in cirrhotic patients and its correlation with the severity and prognosis of the disease. Methods: One hundred patients with liver cirrhosis admitted from Dec. 2010 to Jul. 2011 at the Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University were enrolled. Fifty healthy subjects were served as controls. Using genus-specific primers and genomic DNA extracted from the fecal samples, a quantitative analysis of the gut flora was conducted by real-time PCR. Relationships between the changes of gut flora and grade of liver function, prognostic score, inflammatory indicator and complications of cirrhosis were analyzed. Results: Compared with healthy subjects, fecal Enterobacterium was significantly enriched, while fecal Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Clostridium were significantly reduced in cirrhotic patients (all P<0.05). Enterobacterium was positively correlated with the grade of liver function, Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score, C-reactive protein (CRP), and the occurrence of spontaneous peritonitis, respectively (all P<0.05), while Clostridium was negatively correlated with the above mentioned indices (all P<0.05). Conclusions: Gut flora dysbiosis, including increase in Enterobacterium and decrease in Clostridium, is correlated with the severity and prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis. It may aggravate liver cirrhosis by promoting an inflammatory response.