0000000001177942
AUTHOR
Ko Willems Van Dijk
Modulation of the gut microbiota impacts nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A potential role for bile acids
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disease worldwide, yet the pathogenesis of NAFLD is only partially understood. Here, we investigated the role of the gut bacteria in NAFLD by stimulating the gut bacteria via feeding mice the fermentable dietary fiber, guar gum (GG), and suppressing the gut bacteria via chronic oral administration of antibiotics. GG feeding profoundly altered the gut microbiota composition, in parallel with reduced diet-induced obesity and improved glucose tolerance. Strikingly, despite reducing adipose tissue mass and inflammation, GG enhanced hepatic inflammation and fibrosis, concurrent with markedly elevated plasma and hepatic bile acid l…
Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Association Studies in >80 000 Subjects Identifies Multiple Loci for C-Reactive Protein Levels
Background— C-reactive protein (CRP) is a heritable marker of chronic inflammation that is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease. We sought to identify genetic variants that are associated with CRP levels. Methods and Results— We performed a genome-wide association analysis of CRP in 66 185 participants from 15 population-based studies. We sought replication for the genome-wide significant and suggestive loci in a replication panel comprising 16 540 individuals from 10 independent studies. We found 18 genome-wide significant loci, and we provided evidence of replication for 8 of them. Our results confirm 7 previously known loci and introduce 11 novel loci that are implicated in p…