Disordered gut microbiota in patients with autoimmune hepatitis
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an inflammatory liver disease of unknown etiology. Growing evidence suggests a role of gut microbiota in AIH pathogenesis. In this study, we examined gut microbiota profiles of AIH patients compared to healthy controls. Fecal samples were collected from 15 AIH patients and 15 matched healthy controls. Patients were clinically diagnosed according to guidelines. Individuals receiving recent antibiotics/probiotics were excluded. 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on fecal DNA extractions to survey gut microbial compositions. We found that AIH patients exhibited dysbiotic gut microbiota compared to healthy controls, characterized by decreased microbial diversity and altered composition.