| 1. |
- Thorell, Kaisa, et al.
(author)
-
Isolates from Colonic Spirochetosis in Humans Show High Genomic Divergence and Potential Pathogenic Features but Are Not Detected Using Standard Primers for the Human Microbiota
- 2019
-
In: Journal of Bacteriology. - 0021-9193 .- 1098-5530. ; 201:21
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Colonic spirochetosis, diagnosed based on the striking appearance in histological sections, still has an obscure clinical relevance, and only a few bacterial isolates from this condition have been characterized to date. In a randomized, population-based study in Stockholm, Sweden, 745 healthy individuals underwent colonoscopy with biopsy sampling. Of these individuals, 17 (2.3%) had colonic spirochetosis, which was associated with eosinophilic infiltration and a 3-fold-increased risk for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We aimed to culture the bacteria and perform whole-genome sequencing of the isolates from this unique representative population sample. From 14 out of 17 individuals with spirochetosis we successfully isolated, cultured, and performed whole-genome sequencing of in total 17 isolates, including the Brachyspira aalborgi type strain, 513A. Also, 16S analysis of the mucosaassociated microbiota was performed in the cases and nonspirochetosis controls. We found one isolate to be of the species Brachyspira pilosicoli; all remaining isolates were of the species Brachyspira aalborgi. Besides displaying extensive genetic heterogeneity, the isolates harbored several mucin-degrading enzymes and other virulenceassociated genes that could confer a pathogenic potential in the human colon. We also showed that 16S amplicon sequencing using standard primers for human microbiota studies failed to detect Brachyspira due to primer incompatibility. IMPORTANCE This is the first report of whole-genome analysis of clinical isolates from individuals with colonic spirochetosis. This characterization provides new opportunities in understanding the physiology and potentials of these bacteria that densely colonize the gut in the individuals infected. The observation that standard 16S amplicon primers fail to detect colonic spirochetosis may have major implications for studies searching for associations between members of the microbiota and clinical conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and should be taken into consideration in project design and interpretation of gastrointestinal tract microbiota in population-based and clinical settings.
|
|
| 2. |
- Walker, Marjorie M., et al.
(author)
-
Colonic spirochetosis is associated with colonic eosinophilia and irritable bowel syndrome in a general population in Sweden
- 2015
-
In: Human Pathology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0046-8177 .- 1532-8392. ; 46:2, s. 277-283
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional disorder defined by symptoms in the absence of overt pathology. Colonic spirochetosis (CS), defined by histologic observation of spirochetal strains of Brachyspira in colonic biopsies, is uncommon and considered of doubtful significance. We aimed to determine the prevalence of CS in the general population, identify subtle colon pathologies, and evaluate a link with symptoms of IBS. Colonoscopy was performed in 745 subjects (aged 19-70 years, mean age 51 years, 43% male) with biopsies (ileum and 4 colonic sites) from a random population sample, Stockholm, Sweden, who completed a validated questionnaire of gastrointestinal symptoms; IBS was identified by Rome III criteria. CS was identified by histology and immunohistochemistry. In a general population, 17 individuals (2.28%; 95% confidence interval, 1.2%-3.5%) were diagnosed as having CS by histology; 6 (35%) had IBS. CS was always present in the sigmoid colon, but only 14 rectal biopsies. Eosinophils were increased in colon biopsies in CS cases versus controls, in the transverse (p = .02), sigmoid colon (P = .001), and rectum (P = .0005) with subepithelial eosinophil clusters (P = .053). Lymphoid follicles (at any site) were present in 13 CS (P = .0003). There was a 3-fold increased risk of IBS in CS (odds ratio, 3.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-10.11; P = .015). Polyps and diverticular disease were similar in CS cases and controls. The prevalence of CS in a general population is 2% and associated with nonconstipating IBS. Colonic eosinophilia with lymphoid follicles may signify the presence of CS.
|
|
| 3. |
- Agreus, Lars, et al.
(author)
-
Towards a healthy stomach? : Helicobacter pylori prevalence has dramatically decreased over 23 years in adults in a Swedish community
- 2016
-
In: United European Gastroenterology journal. - : Wiley. - 2050-6406 .- 2050-6414. ; 4:5, s. 686-696
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background In Western countries the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection may be declining but there is a lack of recent longitudinal population studies. We evaluated the changing epidemiology over a 23-year period in Sweden.Materials and methods In 1989, the validated Abdominal Symptom Questionnaire (ASQ) was mailed to a random sample of inhabitants (ages 22-80 years) in a Swedish community, and 1097 (87%) responded. H. pylori serology was analysed in a representative subsample (n=145). Twenty-three years later, the ASQ was mailed again using similar selection criteria, and 388 out of 1036 responders had an upper endoscopy with assessment of H. pylori and corpus atrophy status.Results The prevalence of positive H. pylori serology decreased from 37.9% (1989) to 15.8% (2012), corresponding to a decrease in odds of 75% per decade (odds ratio (OR): 0.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.11-0.59, p=0.001) independent of age, gender, body mass index (BMI) and level of education, with a pattern consistent with a birth cohort effect. The prevalence increased with increasing age (p=0.001). The prevalence of H. pylori on histology in 2012 was 11.4% (95% CI 8.6-15.0). The prevalence of corpus atrophy on serology and/or histology in 2012 was 3.2% (95% CI 1.8-5.5); all cases were 57 years old.Conclusion The stomach is healthier in 2012 compared with 1989. H. pylori prevalence in adults has decreased over the last two decades to a level where clinical management might be affected.
|
|
| 4. |
- Carstens, Adam, 1975-, et al.
(author)
-
Differential clustering of faecal and mucosa-associated microbiota in healthy individuals
- 2018
-
In: Journal of Digestive Diseases. - : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. - 1751-2972 .- 1751-2980. ; 19:12, s. 745-752
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Faecal samples are often used to characterise gut microbiota, since they are easily collected. However, whether or not the faecal microbiota differ from the mucosa-associated microbiota remains largely unknown. This may be specifically relevant in conditions that are characterised by complex mucosal microbe-host interactions, such as Crohn's disease. We aimed to determine the degree of agreement between faecal and mucosal microbiota profiles in healthy individuals, using two commonly used collection procedures.MATERIAL AND METHODS: The gut microbiota composition of faecal samples (sent at ambient temperature before storage at -70°C) and of colonic biopsies (obtained at endoscopy and immediately stored at -70°C) was determined by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. Thirty-one randomly selected healthy individuals from the population-based colonoscopy (Popcol) study were included.RESULTS: Faecal samples were characterised by a reduced degree of richness (p<0.0001) and diversity (p=0.016), and also differences in several phyla, including a lower relative abundance of Proteobacteria (p<0.0001) and Verrucomicrobia (p=0.008) than in biopsies. Only 3 of 30 individuals had a similar faecal and mucosal microbiota profile, based on weighted UniFrac analysis. A difference in Crohn's disease dysbiosis-associated bacteria was observed, including a lower relative abundance of Faecalibacterium (p=0.004) and a higher relative abundance of Ruminococcus (p=0.001) in faeces than in biopsies.CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of faecal samples that have been transported at ambient temperature does not adequately reflect the colonic mucosa-associated microbiota in healthy individuals. These findings have implications for the interpretation of the previous literature, and may be specifically relevant to studies on Crohn's disease.
|
|
| 5. |
- Carstens, Adam, 1975-, et al.
(author)
-
The Gut Microbiota in Collagenous Colitis Shares Characteristics With Inflammatory Bowel Disease-Associated Dysbiosis
- 2019
-
In: Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2155-384X. ; 10:7
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- INTRODUCTION: In inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), an aberrant immune response to gut microbiota is important, but the role of the microbiota in collagenous colitis (CC) is largely unknown. We aimed to characterize the microbiota of patients with CC compared with that of healthy control and patients with IBD.METHODS: Fecal samples were collected from patients with CC (n = 29), age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 29), patients with Crohn's disease (n = 32), and patients with ulcerative colitis (n = 32). Sequence data were obtained by 454 sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons, and the obtained sequences were subsequently taxonomically classified.RESULTS: Analysis of similarity statistics showed a segregation between patients with CC and healthy controls with increasing taxonomic resolution, becoming significant comparing operational taxonomic unit data (P = 0.006). CC had a lower abundance of 10 different taxa. Taxa-specific analyses revealed a consistent lower abundance of several operational taxonomic units belonging to the Ruminococcaceae family in patients with CC, q < 0.05 after false discovery rate correction. Loss of these taxa was seen in patients with CC with active disease and/or corticosteroid treatment only and resembled the findings in patients with IBD.DISCUSSION: CC is associated with a specific fecal microbiome seen primarily in patients with active disease or ongoing corticosteroid treatment, whereas the microbiome of CC patients in remission resembled that of healthy controls. Notably, the shift in key taxa, including the Ruminococcaceae family, was also observed in IBD. There may be common mechanisms in the pathogenesis of CC and IBD.
|
|
| 6. |
- Engstrand Lilja, Helene, 1963-, et al.
(author)
-
Intestinal dysbiosis in children with short bowel syndrome is associated with impaired outcome
- 2015
-
In: Microbiome. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2049-2618. ; 3
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: The composition of the intestinal microbiota seems to be an important factor in determining the clinical outcome in children with short bowel syndrome (SBS). Alterations in the microbiota may result in serious complications such as small bowel bacterial overgrowth (SBBO) and intestinal mucosal inflammation that lead to prolonged parenteral nutrition (PN) dependency with subsequently increased risk of liver failure and sepsis. To date, there are no reported mappings of the intestinal microbiome in children with SBS. Here, we present the first report on the intestinal microbial community profile in children with SBS. Findings: The study includes children diagnosed with SBS in the neonatal period. Healthy siblings served as controls. Fecal samples were collected, and microbial profiles were analyzed by using 16S rRNA gene sequencing on the Illumina MiSeq platform. We observed a pronounced microbial dysbiosis in children with SBS on PN treatment with an increased and totally dominating relative abundance of Enterobacteriacae in four out of five children compared to children with SBS weaned from PN and healthy siblings. Conclusions: The overall decreased bacterial diversity in children with SBS is consistent with intestinal microbiome mappings in inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. Our findings indicate that intestinal dysbiosis in children with SBS is associated with prolonged PN dependency.
|
|
| 7. |
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Pammi, Mohan, et al.
(author)
-
Intestinal dysbiosis in preterm infants preceding necrotizing enterocolitis : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- 2017
-
In: Microbiome. - : BIOMED CENTRAL LTD. - 2049-2618. ; 5
-
Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a catastrophic disease of preterm infants, and microbial dysbiosis has been implicated in its pathogenesis. Studies evaluating the microbiome in NEC and preterm infants lack power and have reported inconsistent results. Methods and results: Our objectives were to perform a systematic review and meta-analyses of stool microbiome profiles in preterm infants to discern and describe microbial dysbiosis prior to the onset of NEC and to explore heterogeneity among studies. We searched MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL, and conference abstracts from the proceedings of Pediatric Academic Societies and reference lists of relevant identified articles in April 2016. Studies comparing the intestinal microbiome in preterm infants who developed NEC to those of controls, using cultureindependent molecular techniques and reported a and beta-diversity metrics, and microbial profiles were included. In addition, 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) sequence data with clinical meta-data were requested from the authors of included studies or searched in public data repositories. We reprocessed the 16S rRNA sequence data through a uniform analysis pipeline, which were then synthesized by meta-analysis. We included 14 studies in this review, and data from eight studies were available for quantitative synthesis (106 NEC cases, 278 controls, 2944 samples). The age of NEC onset was at a mean +/- SD of 30.1 +/- 2.4 weeks post-conception (n = 61). Fecal microbiome from preterm infants with NEC had increased relative abundances of Proteobacteria and decreased relative abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes prior to NEC onset. Alpha-or beta-diversity indices in preterm infants with NEC were not consistently different from controls, but we found differences in taxonomic profiles related to antibiotic exposure, formula feeding, and mode of delivery. Exploring heterogeneity revealed differences in microbial profiles by study and the target region of the 16S rRNA gene (V1-V3 or V3-V5). Conclusions: Microbial dysbiosis preceding NEC in preterm infants is characterized by increased relative abundances of Proteobacteria and decreased relative abundances of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. Microbiome optimization may provide a novel strategy for preventing NEC.
|
|
| 10. |
- Berthenet, Elvire, et al.
(author)
-
A GWAS on Helicobacter pylori strains points to genetic variants associated with gastric cancer risk
- 2018
-
In: BMC Biology. - : BioMed Central. - 1741-7007. ; 16:1
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND:Helicobacter pylori are stomach-dwelling bacteria that are present in about 50% of the global population. Infection is asymptomatic in most cases, but it has been associated with gastritis, gastric ulcers and gastric cancer. Epidemiological evidence shows that progression to cancer depends upon the host and pathogen factors, but questions remain about why cancer phenotypes develop in a minority of infected people. Here, we use comparative genomics approaches to understand how genetic variation amongst bacterial strains influences disease progression.RESULTS:We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 173 H. pylori isolates from the European population (hpEurope) with known disease aetiology, including 49 from individuals with gastric cancer. We identified SNPs and genes that differed in frequency between isolates from patients with gastric cancer and those with gastritis. The gastric cancer phenotype was associated with the presence of babA and genes in the cag pathogenicity island, one of the major virulence determinants of H. pylori, as well as non-synonymous variations in several less well-studied genes. We devised a simple risk score based on the risk level of associated elements present, which has the potential to identify strains that are likely to cause cancer but will require refinement and validation.CONCLUSION:There are a number of challenges to applying GWAS to bacterial infections, including the difficulty of obtaining matched controls, multiple strain colonization and the possibility that causative strains may not be present when disease is detected. Our results demonstrate that bacterial factors have a sufficiently strong influence on disease progression that even a small-scale GWAS can identify them. Therefore, H. pylori GWAS can elucidate mechanistic pathways to disease and guide clinical treatment options, including for asymptomatic carriers.
|
|
