Probiotics and the gut-liver axis

The gut-liver axis refers to the bidirectional relationship between the gut and its microbiota, and the liver. Alterations in its homeostasis which promote the translocation of metabolites and components derived from the gut microbiota to the liver induce pathologic effect in the liver. Specifically, alterations in gut-liver axis have been related to alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic liver disease, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The identification of the elements of the gut-liver axis damaged in each chronic liver disease plays a key role in the development of intervention. Beyond antibiotics, probiotics, bacterial metabolites (postbiotics), faecal microbial transplantation, and farnesoid X receptor (FXR)-agonists are currently being tested in different liver diseases.