Association of Gut Microbiota and Bile Acid With Disease Progress in Children With Biliary Atresia

Abstract

Background & Aims: Biliary atresia (BA) is the most common cause of liver disease and liver transplantation in children. Disease progress is aggravated by decreased secretion of bile acids and gut microbiota disorder. This study aimed to investigate the characteristic gut microbiota disorder, bile acids profiles and the possible roles in patients with BA. Methods: We recruited 16 children with BA and 10 healthy children to analyze the alterations in gut microbiota and bile acids profiles. Metagenomic sequencing and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry were performed to characterize the gut microbiota and bile acids, respectively. Results: Gut microbes, functional pathways, and bile acids composition were all disturbed in BA individuals. The abundance of gut pathogenic bacteria and pathogen-related metabolic pathways were enhanced in children with BA. Moreover, Klebsiella spp., Serratia spp., Escherichia spp., Enterococcus spp., Enterobacteriaceae spp., and Streptococcus spp. were the dominating pathogenic bacteria. In functional profiles, the capsular polysaccharide transport system, bacterial secretion system, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, and GABA synthesis were increased while histidine, lysine, and cysteine biosynthesis were decreased in the BA group (P < 0.05). Besides, the abundance of fecal bile acids in BA individuals decreased significantly. Conclusions: This study understand the possible mechanism of BA progression from the perspective of gut microbiota. Funding Information: This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.81570586). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The Ethical Committee approved the study of Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University (Approval ID: 2019-P2–131-02), and informed consent was obtained from each participant's guardians. Patient consent for publication was obtained.