The enteric microbiome in hepatobiliary health and disease

Increasing evidence points to the contribution of the intestinal microbiome as a potentially key determinant in the initiation and/or progression of hepatobiliary disease. While current understanding of this dynamic is incomplete, exciting insights are continually being made and more are expected given the developments in molecular and high-throughput omics techniques. In this brief review, we provide a practical and updated synopsis of the interaction of the intestinal microbiome with the liver and its downstream impact on the initiation, progression and complications of hepatobiliary disease.