ArticleHepatology (Baltimore, Md.)2020
Indole Alleviates Diet-Induced Hepatic Steatosis and Inflammation in a Manner Involving Myeloid Cell 6-Phosphofructo-2-Kinase/Fructose-2,6-Biphosphatase 3.
Article in Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 88 papers.
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Who cites it
88 citing papers in PubMed, 127 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gut microbiota shaping fatty liver disease progression.Life science alliance · 2027Review
- Canonical and Non-Canonical Regulators of Lipid Metabolism in the Liver and the "Liver-Other Organs" Axes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Metabolite Signatures in Postpartum Prediabetes and Diabetes Among Indian Women With Prior Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Insights From CHIP-F Study.Diabetes/metabolism research and reviews · 2026Article
- Akkermansia: A Potential Target for Natural Botanicals in Treatment of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Diseases.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2026Review
- Gut microbiota-derived indole-3-propionic acid alleviates endoplasmic reticulum stress by regulating FMO2 in MASLD.Hepatology communications · 2026Article
- Gut Mycobiota-Associated Tryptophan Catabolites Protect Against Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- 5-methoxytryptamine improves hepatic inflammation and insulin resistance in a macrophage C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14 dependent manner.Molecular biomedicine · 2026Article
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- Gut microbiota-derived metabolites as immune modulators in aging and age-related chronic inflammatory diseases.Ageing research reviews · 2026Review
- Microbial tryptophan metabolism activates host lysosomal activity to facilitate lipid breakdown.PLoS biology · 2026Article
- Reprogramming offspring liver health: maternal indole supplementation as a preventive strategy against MASLD.EBioMedicine · 2026Article
- Beneficial impacts of postbiotic components -- Crosstalk between gut and organs.Current research in food science · 2026Review
- Targeting the gut microbiota: the application and prospects of probiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and natural products in MASLD.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Anti-inflammatory effects of 3PO in asthmatic airway inflammation: an integrated study using network pharmacology, molecular modelling, andFrontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- The gut-liver-immune axis: structural basis, cellular architecture, molecular mediators, and disease-specific manifestations.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Gut microbial metabolites of amino acids in liver diseases.Gut microbes · 2025Review
- Harnessing postbiotics for liver health: Emerging perspectives.World journal of gastrointestinal pharmacology and therapeutics · 2025Review
- Leveraging microbiota-metabolites to reduce inflammation and promote functional recovery following spinal cord injury in female mice.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Review
28 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 8 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsIndole is a microbiota metabolite that exerts anti-inflammatory responses. However, the relevance of indole to human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is not clear. It also remains largely unknown whether and how indole acts to protect against NAFLD. The present study sought to examine the association between the circulating levels of indole and liver fat content in human subjects and explore the mechanisms underlying indole actions in mice with diet-induced NAFLD. APPROACH AND
resultsIn a cohort of 137 subjects, the circulating levels of indole were reversely correlated with body mass index. In addition, the circulating levels of indole in obese subjects were significantly lower than those in lean subjects and were accompanied with increased liver fat content. At the whole-animal level, treatment of high-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6J mice with indole caused significant decreases in the severity of hepatic steatosis and inflammation. In cultured cells, indole treatment stimulated the expression of 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-biphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3), a master regulatory gene of glycolysis, and suppressed macrophage proinflammatory activation in a PFKFB3-dependent manner. Moreover, myeloid cell-specific PFKFB3 disruption exacerbated the severity of HFD-induced hepatic steatosis and inflammation and blunted the effect of indole on alleviating diet-induced NAFLD phenotype.
conclusionsTaken together, our results demonstrate that indole is relevant to human NAFLD and capable of alleviating diet-induced NAFLD phenotypes in mice in a myeloid cell PFKFB3-dependent manner. Therefore, indole mimetic and/or macrophage-specific PFKFB3 activation may be the viable preventive and/or therapeutic approaches for inflammation-associated diseases including NAFLD.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.