Bile salt hydrolase-overexpressing Lactobacillus strains can improve hepatic lipid accumulation in vitro in an NAFLD cell model

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a range of liver diseases that occur in the absence of significant alcohol consumption. The probiotic bacterial strains Lactobacillus casei LC2W, which overexpresses the bile salt hydrolase (BSH) gene (referred to as pWQH01), and Lactobacillus plantarum AR113, which exhibits high BSH activity, have been shown to improve hepatic lipid accumulation and may lower cholesterol levels in vivo. These effects may be BSH-dependent, as L....