CORRELATION OF GUT MICROBIOTA PROFILE AND DECOMPENSATION OF LIVER FUNCTION

Background. There exists a bilateral relationship between the gut microorganisms and the liver, the so-called "gut microbiota-liver" axis. With the progression of liver diseases and a decrease in liver function, there is a change in the qualitative and quantitative composition of the gut microbiota. Objective. To analyze the relationship between the gut microbiota profile and the level of bilirubin, albumin, and prothrombin in patients with liver cirrhosis. Material and methods. A prospective cohort single-center study of 79 hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis was conducted, which included collection and low-temperature freezing of stool samples. High throughput sequencing was performed with the MiSeq genetic analyzer (Illumina, USA) using a protocol based on the analysis of variable regions of the 16s rRNA gene. The data was analyzed by using the Kraken2 algorithm and by calculating the Spearman correlation coefficient. The significance level of α is assumed to be 0.05. The study is registered in Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05335213). Results. The gut microbiota in liver cirrhosis and decreased liver function is characterized by an increase in the density of potentially pathogenic taxa such as Proteobacteria, Synergistetes, and a decrease in the taxa of Bacteroidetes, Elusimicrobia, Verrucomicrobia, Aquificae, Candidatus Saccharibacteria, Thermotogae, Ignavibacteriae, which can be attributed to autochthonous. The indices of alpha diversity of the intestinal microbiota (Observed, Shannon, Simpson, Chao1) have no significant differences depending on the level of bilirubin, albumin, and prothrombin. Conclusion. The relationship between the gut microbiota and liver diseases is beyond doubt. With the progression of liver cirrhosis and a decrease in liver function, an increase in the number of pathogenic and a decrease in potentially beneficial taxa of the fecal microbiota is observed.