Aggravated hepatic fibrosis induced by phenylalanine and tyrosine was ameliorated by chitooligosaccharides supplementation

Hepatic fibrosis is a classic pathological manifestation of metabolic chronic hepatopathy. The pathological process might either gradually deteriorate into cirrhosis and ultimately liver cancer with inappropriate nutrition supply, or be slowed down by several multifunctional nutrients, alternatively. Herein, we found diet with excessive phenylalanine (Phe) and tyrosine (Tyr) exacerbated hepatic fibrosis symptoms of liver dysfunction and gut microflora dysbiosis in mice. Chitooligosaccharides (COS) could ameliorate hepatic fibrosis with the regulation of amino acid metabolism by downregulating the mTORC1 pathway, especially that of Phe and Tyr, and also with the alleviation of the dysbiosis of gut microbiota, simultaneously. Conclusively, this work presents new insight into the role of Phe and Tyr in the pathologic process of hepatic fibrosis, while revealing the effectiveness and molecular mechanism of COS in improving hepatic fibrosis from the perspective of metabolites.