Examining the gut-liver axis in liver cancer using organoid models.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to summarize the advantages of organoid culture for examining the gut-liver axis in relation to cancer initiation and progression, particularly focusing on the role of high-fat diet in promoting liver cancer.
Results Summary
The abstract highlights that high-fat diet can promote intestinal permeability, leading to microbial translocation from the gut to the liver, exacerbating hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, and increasing the risk of primary liver cancer. Organoid models are proposed as a tool to study these mechanisms and develop therapeutic interventions.
Population
Not specified (general discussion of mechanisms, no specific human or animal population mentioned).
Effective Dosage
Not mentioned
Duration
Not mentioned
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
alcohol | increase | intestinal permeability | - | - | can promote | #1 |
high fat diet | increase | intestinal permeability | - | - | can promote | #2 |
alcohol and high fat diet | increase | microbial translocation from the gut into the liver | - | - | enabling | #3 |
microbial antigens and metabolites | increase | hepatic inflammation | - | - | exacerbate | #4 |
microbial antigens and metabolites | increase | fibrosis | - | - | exacerbate | #5 |
alcohol and high fat diet | increase | risk of primary liver cancer | - | - | increasing | #6 |
The World Health Organization predicts that by 2030 liver cancer will cause 1 million deaths annually, thus becoming the third most lethal cancer worldwide. Hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma are the two major primary cancer subtypes involving the liver. Both are often diagnosed late, and hence response to treatment and survival are poor. It is therefore of utmost importance to understand the mechanisms by which liver cancers initiate and progress. The causes of primary liver cancer are diverse, resulting primarily from obesity, chronic alcohol abuse or viral hepatitis. Importantly, both alcohol and high fat diet can promote intestinal permeability, enabling microbial translocation from the gut into the liver. As a result, these microbial antigens and metabolites exacerbate hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, increasing the risk of primary liver cancer. Organoids are primary, three-dimensional, stem cell derived liver models that can recapitulate many of the disease phenotypes observed in vivo. This review aims to summarize the advantages of organoid culture to examine the gut-liver axis with respect to cancer initiation and progression. In particular, the use of gut and liver organoid mono- and co-cultures together and with immune cell populations to best recapitulate disease mechanisms and develop therapeutic interventions.