Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38176203›Full record

ArticleEBioMedicine2024

Lactobacillus acidophilus suppresses non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated hepatocellular carcinoma through producing valeric acid.

Harry Cheuk-Hay Lau, Xiang Zhang, Fenfen Ji, Yufeng Lin, Wei Liang, Qing Li, Danyu Chen, Winnie Fong, Xing Kang, Weixin Liu and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in EBioMedicine, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 95 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
95citing papers in PubMed
42.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

95 citing papers in PubMed, 110 citations in OpenAlex.

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  19. Sleeve gastrectomy protects lean mice from future obesity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
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35 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Harry Cheuk-Hay LauState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Xiang ZhangState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Fenfen JiState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Yufeng LinState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Wei LiangInstitute of Precision Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Qing LiState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Danyu ChenState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Winnie FongState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Xing KangState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Weixin LiuState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Eagle Siu-Hong ChuState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Queena Wing-Yin NgState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Jun YuState Key Laboratory of Digestive Disease, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Institute of Digestive Disease, Li Ka Shing Institute of Health Sciences, CUHK Shenzhen Research Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: junyu@cuhk.edu.hk.
Chinese University of Hong Kong · HKSun Yat-sen University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundGut probiotic depletion is associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated hepatocellular carcinoma (NAFLD-HCC). Here, we investigated the prophylactic potential of Lactobacillus acidophilus against NAFLD-HCC.

methodsNAFLD-HCC conventional and germ-free mice were established by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) injection with feeding of high-fat high-cholesterol (HFHC) or choline-deficient high-fat (CDHF) diet. Orthotopic NAFLD-HCC allografts were established by intrahepatic injection of murine HCC cells with HFHC feeding. Metabolomic profiling was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Biological functions of L. acidophilus conditional medium (L.a CM) and metabolites were determined in NAFLD-HCC human cells and mouse organoids.

findingsL. acidophilus supplementation suppressed NAFLD-HCC formation in HFHC-fed DEN-treated mice. This was confirmed in orthotopic allografts and germ-free tumourigenesis mice. L.a CM inhibited the growth of NAFLD-HCC human cells and mouse organoids. The protective function of L. acidophilus was attributed to its non-protein small molecules. By metabolomic profiling, valeric acid was the top enriched metabolite in L.a CM and its upregulation was verified in liver and portal vein of L. acidophilus-treated mice. The protective function of valeric acid was demonstrated in NAFLD-HCC human cells and mouse organoids. Valeric acid significantly suppressed NAFLD-HCC formation in HFHC-fed DEN-treated mice, accompanied by improved intestinal barrier integrity. This was confirmed in another NAFLD-HCC mouse model induced by CDHF diet and DEN. Mechanistically, valeric acid bound to hepatocytic surface receptor GPR41/43 to inhibit Rho-GTPase pathway, thereby ablating NAFLD-HCC.

interpretationL. acidophilus exhibits anti-tumourigenic effect in mice by secreting valeric acid. Probiotic supplementation is a potential prophylactic of NAFLD-HCC.

fundingShown in Acknowledgments.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, HepatocellularLiver NeoplasmsNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseasePentanoic AcidsProbioticsAnimalsCarcinogenesisCell Transformation, NeoplasticCholineDiet, High-FatHumansLactobacillus acidophilusLiverMiceMice, Inbred C57BLCholinen-pentanoic acidPentanoic AcidsCancer preventionLactobacillus acidophilusNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease-associated hepatocellular carcinomaRho-GTPase pathwayValeric acid

Identifiers

PMID38176203
PMCPMC10801313
OpenAlexW4390565269

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.