The static magnetic field modulates gut microbiota and host metabolism to alleviate high fat diet induced metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease

Static magnetic field (SMF) plays an important role in improving metabolic disorders. Although some existing studies have shown that the SMF has a positive effect on the metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), the connection between the SMF and gut microbiota in the progression of MAFLD remains unclear. In our study, the high-fat diet (HFD) induced MAFLD mice were exposed to the 0.2 T SMF for 12 hours/day for 10 weeks. We found the SMF significantly reduced body weight, improved liver lipid accumulation and liver function. Sequencing analysis of mouse intestinal contents revealed that the SMF significantly improved gut microbiota abundance, resulting in a significant increase in beneficial bacteria abundance. Meanwhile, the analysis of omics data and Spearman correlation also demonstrated that the SMF significantly reduced the expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis and regulated the polyunsaturated fatty acids and glutamate metabolism, closely aligning with the changes of beneficial gut microbiota. Furthermore, liver RNA sequencing results suggest that the SMF may inhibit fatty acid synthesis and elongation in the liver by regulating the expression of PPARγ, thereby reducing hepatic lipid accumulation. These findings indicate that the SMF may not only have the potential to regulate MAFLD, but also provide insights into the mechanisms of MAFLD through gut microbiota and metabolic modulation.