Abstract
Blastocystis is the most frequently isolated protozoan from human stool. Its role in human health is still debated, and a high prevalence was reported in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) subjects, suggesting a potential link with microbiota. In the present study, we aimed to investigate prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbiota in both IBS-C (constipated) and healthy individuals. We recruited 35 IBS-C patients and 23 healthy subjects, from which 12 and 11 carried Blastocystis, respectively. We performed 16S and 18S rRNA high-throughput sequencing on feces. Whereas we did not observe differences between infected and non-infected controls, several phyla were significantly modified in IBS-C patients according to the presence of Blastocystis. Tenericutes phylum and Ruminococcaceae family were especially increased in Blastocystis carriers. Furthermore, colonization with Blastocystis was associated with discrete changes in the microbial eukaryome, particularly among the Fungi taxa. Depending on the group of patients considered, the mycobiota changes do not go in the same direction and seem more deleterious in the IBS-C group. These results encourage further in vivo and in vitro investigations concerning the role of Blastocystis in the gut environment.
Highlights
Blastocystis is the most prevalent intestinal parasite found in human worldwide, even in industrialized countries; for example, the prevalence is approximately 17% in France (El Safadi et al, 2016)
Thirty-five patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-C (8 males and 27 females, sex ratio 0.30) and 23 healthy subjects (10 males and 13 females, sex ratio 0.77) were recruited (Supplementary Table 2)
Our study was motivated by the literature of the last decade reporting high prevalence of Blastocystis in IBS patients, the concerns about the risk associated with Blastocystis in fecal microbiota transplantation, and recent studies in animal models (Nourrisson et al, 2014; Terveer et al, 2019; Defaye et al, 2020)
Summary
Blastocystis is the most prevalent intestinal parasite found in human worldwide, even in industrialized countries; for example, the prevalence is approximately 17% in France (El Safadi et al, 2016). ST1 to ST9 and ST12 were identified in human stools, with ST1 to ST4 being the most frequent (Alfellani et al, 2013; Ramírez et al, 2016). A potential link between Blastocystis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a functional chronic disorder, was suspected in several studies on the basis of prevalence data and potential virulence factors produced by the parasite (Poirier et al, 2012; Nourrisson et al, 2014, 2016). Four symptom-based subgroups of IBS can be distinguished according to the predominant
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