Figure 1.

Mechanism of alcoholic liver disease. Consumption of alcohol leads to increased gut permeability, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and enteric dysbiosis. Increased translocation of microbial products to the liver via the portal tract induces a gamut of damaging immune responses in the hepatic milieu. The utilization of probiotics, prebiotics, antibiotics, or fecal microbiota transplant may promote the reestablishment of gut homeostasis, mitigating deleterious inflammation associated with ALD.