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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease commonly associated with hepatic fibrosis. NASH patients have an increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). An altered retinol metabolism is one of the pathways involved in the process of hepatic fibrosis, and enzymes involved in retinol metabolism have been associated with HCC. We aimed to determine the association between plasma retinol levels and hepatic expression of genes related to retinol metabolism, as well as to assess the hepatic expression of transcription factors regulated by retinoic acid in patients with NAFLD. Cross-sectional study where hepatic gene expression (Illumina microarray) and plasma retinol levels (HPLC) were measured in 17 patients with simple steatosis (SS), 15 with NASH, and 22 living liver donors (LD) as controls. Plasma retinol levels were higher in SS (1.53 ± 0.44 μmol/L) and NASH (1.51 ± 0.56 μmol/L) compared to LD (1.21 ± 0.38 μmol/L; p

BACKGROUND & AIMS:Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by dysbiosis. The bidirectional effects between intestinal microbiota (IM) and bile acids (BA) suggest that dysbiosis may be accompanied by an altered bile acid (BA) homeostasis, which in turn can contribute to the metabolic dysregulation seen in NAFLD. This study sought to examine BA homeostasis in patients with NAFLD and to relate that with IM data. METHODS:This was a prospective, cross-sectional study of adults with biopsy-confirmed NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver: NAFL or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: NASH) and healthy controls (HC). Clinical and laboratory data, stool samples and 7-day food records were collected. Fecal BA profiles, serum markers of BA synthesis 7-alpha-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one (C4) and intestinal BA signalling, as well as IM composition were assessed. RESULTS:53 subjects were included: 25 HC, 12 NAFL and 16 NASH. Levels of total fecal BA, cholic acid (CA), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) and BA synthesis were higher in patients with NASH compared to HC (p