The cholesterol-lowering probiotics alleviate non-alcoholic fatty liver by regulating gut microbiota status and bile acid metabolism

The epidemiological and economic burden of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is wide spreading for years. Although several cholesterol-lowering probiotics strains have been found to enhance the effects on NAFLD, the underlying mechanism remains not elucidated. FXR is a vital receptor of bile acids (BAs) that represses bile acids synthesis and uptake while increasing its excretion to maintain BA homeostasis. This work aims to reveal the regulatory mechanisms of cholesterol-lowering probiotics on NAFLD from aspects involved in BA metabolism in FXR gene knockout (FXR-/-) mice.