Gut Microbiota and Liver Regeneration: A Synthesis of Evidence on Structural Changes and Physiological Mechanisms

Abstract

Liver regeneration (LR) is a unique biological process with the ability to restore up to 70% of the organ. This allows for the preservation of liver resections for various liver tumors and for living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). However, in some cases, LR is insufficient and interventions that can improve LR are urgently needed. Gut microbiota (GM) is one of the factors influencing LR, as the liver and intestine are intimately connected through the gut–liver axis. Thus, healthy GM facilitates normal LR, whereas dysbiosis leads to impaired LR due to imbalance of bile acids, inflammatory cytokines, microbial metabolites, signaling pathways, etc. Therefore, GM can be considered as a new possible therapeutic target to improve LR. In this review, we critically observe the current knowledge about the influence of gut microbiota (GM) on liver regeneration (LR) and the possibility to improve this process, which may reduce complication and mortality rates after liver surgery. Although much research has been done on this topic, more clinical trials and systemic reviews are urgently needed to move this type of intervention from the experimental phase to the clinical field.