Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42886304›Full record

ArticleMolecular biomedicine2026

Curcumin alleviates metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease via gut microbiota-dependent epigenetic alterations.

Yong Zhu, Jinhu Ma, Danhong Wang, Mingzhu Cui, Jin Peng, Xuejin Lu, Xingyue Pei, Yi Wang, Jing Lv, Yuxuan Yan and 6 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular biomedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

16 authors.

Yong Zhu *Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Jinhu Ma *Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Danhong Wang *Department of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Mingzhu CuiDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Jin PengDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Xuejin LuDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Xingyue PeiDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Yi WangDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Jing LvDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Yuxuan YanDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Wenhao MaDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Mingtao ZhaoDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Shulei YouDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Jie MaDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
Yunshu TangLaboratory Animal Research Center, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China. tangyunshu@ahmu.edu.cn.
Yaling ZhuDepartment of Pathophysiology, College of Basic Medical Science, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China. zhuyaling@ahmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2302-9837

Funding

Basic and Clinical cooperative research program of Anhui Medical University 2022xkjT013National Natural Science Foundation of China 82203866National Natural Science Foundation of China 82300661Natural Science Foundation of Anhui province 2308085QH246Natural Science Foundation of the Anhui Higher Education Institutions KJ2021A0205Outstanding Youth Science Foundation of the Department of Education of Anhui Province 2024AH030020Scientific Research Foundation of Anhui Medical University 2023xkj002
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is increasingly prevalent, yet effective therapies remain limited. Curcumin (Cur), a polyphenol with well-documented metabolic benefits, shows therapeutic promise in MASLD, but its efficacy and underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. A meta-analysis of seven clinical studies indicated that Cur supplementation reduced serum aminotransferase levels, supporting its potential clinical benefit. In high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats, Cur reduced hepatic lipid accumulation and metabolic dysfunction, whereas these effects were markedly weakened in antibiotic-induced pseudo-germ-free rats, indicating microbiota dependence. Fecal microbiota transplantation from Cur-treated donors transferred these metabolic and histological benefits to antibiotic-conditioned recipients. Fecal 16S rRNA sequencing identified Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 (C. sensu) as a Cur-suppressed, pro-steatotic taxon, and targeted reconstitution of this taxon abolished Cur-mediated protection. Untargeted hepatic metabolomics and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry identified kynurenine (KYN) as a C. sensu-derived metabolite and showed that Cur reduced hepatic KYN accumulation. Integrated H3K27ac ChIP-seq, bulk RNA-seq, and single-cell analyses pinpointed hepatocyte-enriched CEBPB as a key epigenetically regulated effector. Luciferase reporter assays, ChIP-qPCR, and gain- and loss-of-function experiments showed that KYN activated the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), increased H3K27ac enrichment at the Cebpb locus, and induced Cebpb transcription. CEBPB knockdown blocked KYN-induced PI3K-AKT activation and lipid accumulation, whereas in vivo KYN supplementation largely reversed Cur-mediated protection. Collectively, this study reveals a novel gut-liver axis in MASLD pathogenesis, demonstrating that Cur alleviates hepatic steatosis by targeting the microbiota-KYN-AHR-H3K27ac-Cebpb epigenetic axis, positioning Cur supplementation and KYN modulation as promising therapeutic strategies for MASLD intervention.

Indexed as

CurcuminEpigenesis, GeneticFatty LiverGastrointestinal MicrobiomeNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseAnimalsDiet, High-FatHumansLiverMaleRatsCurcuminCurcuminEpigeneticsGut microbiotaH3K27acMASLDMulti-omics

Identifiers

PMID42886304

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.