Role of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis and therapeutics of minimal hepatic encephalopathy via the gut-liver-brain axis

Table 1 Clinical studies of gut microbiota dysbiosis in cirrhotic patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy

Ref.	Nationality	Number of patients	Etiology of cirrhosis	MHE diagnosis	Sample	Method	Microbiota alteration
Zhang et al[8]	China	51	AIH, HBV, PBC, alcohol	NCT-A DST	Stool	16S rRNA pyrosequencing	Enriched Streptococcus salivarius
Wang et al[14]	China	98	HBV, HCV, others	NCT-A DST	Stool	16S rRNA sequencing	Enriched Proteobacteria, especially Pasteurellaceae Haemophilus and Alcaligenaceae Parasutterella
Luo et al[29]	China	143	HBV	PHES	Stool	16S rRNA sequencing	Enriched Streptococcus salivarius and Veillonella
Liu et al[76]	China	55	HBV, HCV, alcohol, others	NCT-A BAEP	Stool	Stool bacterial culture	Overgrowth of E. coli and Staphylococcus spp.
Bajaj et al[27]	United States	97	HCV, alcohol, NASH, others	ICT PHES	Stool	Shotgun metagenomic sequencing	Alistipes ihumii, Prevotella copri, and Eubacterium spp. were higher, while Enterococcus spp. were uniquely lower in MHE diagnosed by ICT
Bajaj et al[28]	United States	247	HCV, alcohol, NASH, others	PHES ICT Stroop	Stool	Multi-tagged sequencing	Enriched Lactobacillaceae

AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; PBC: Primary biliary cirrhosis; NASH: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; NCT-A: Number connection test-A; DST: Digit symbol test; ICT: Inhibitory control test; PHES: Psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score; MHE: Minimal hepatic encephalopathy.