The human microbiome consists of trillions of microorganisms. These microbial communities have been identified as a key driving factor for the current health status of a human body. A plethora of microbial genera encoding various functions and ultimately yield metabolic products utilised by the host, are associated with many health benefits but also with several disease conditions. Since the early 2000s the rapid technological advancement has paved the way for a deeper understanding of how these microbial communities work. Bioinformatic approaches revolving around metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metabolomics are the main focus of the scientific community in order to dive deeper into the maze of information and elucidate the complex relationships between microbiota and diseases. Due to the magnitude of information, there is a continual necessity for further tools, methods and further research. In my PhD I employed cutting-edge bionformatic methods and tools in order to gain insight on how the gut microbiome interacts with the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD is a spectrum of hepatic disorders characterized by the excessive accumulation of triglycerides in hepatocytes (≥5% of hepatocytes), while also beeing considered the most frequent cause of chronic liver disease reaching up to 40% of the general population in the western world, with inadequate pharmacological treatment options. Prior works have linked the gut microbiome with the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The focus of my PhD revolves around identifying novel microbiome based biomarkers that may subsequently facilitate the development of therapeutics products for NAFLD (manuscripts I, II, III and IV). NAFLD typically coexists with other metabolic disorders. In manuscript I we collected metagenomic data from 1206 Chinese individuals with or without NAFLD or other metabolic diseases (obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerosis).
Emmanouil Nychas (Wed,) studied this question.