Abstract
ObjectiveTo evaluate the taxonomic composition of the gut microbiome in gout patients with and without tophi formation, and predict bacterial functions that might have an impact on urate metabolism.MethodsHypervariable V3–V4 regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene from fecal samples of gout patients with and without tophi (n = 33 and n = 25, respectively) were sequenced and compared to fecal samples from 53 healthy controls. We explored predictive functional profiles using bioinformatics in order to identify differences in taxonomy and metabolic pathways.ResultsWe identified a microbiome characterized by the lowest richness and a higher abundance of Phascolarctobacterium, Bacteroides, Akkermansia, and Ruminococcus_gnavus_group genera in patients with gout without tophi when compared to controls. The Proteobacteria phylum and the Escherichia-Shigella genus were more abundant in patients with tophaceous gout than in controls. Fold change analysis detected nine genera enriched in healthy controls compared to gout groups (Bifidobacterium, Butyricicoccus, Oscillobacter, Ruminococcaceae_UCG_010, Lachnospiraceae_ND2007_group, Haemophilus, Ruminococcus_1, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Ruminococcaceae_UGC_013). We found that the core microbiota of both gout groups shared Bacteroides caccae, Bacteroides stercoris ATCC 43183, and Bacteroides coprocola DSM 17136. These bacteria might perform functions linked to one-carbon metabolism, nucleotide binding, amino acid biosynthesis, and purine biosynthesis. Finally, we observed differences in key bacterial enzymes involved in urate synthesis, degradation, and elimination.ConclusionOur findings revealed that taxonomic variations in the gut microbiome of gout patients with and without tophi might have a functional impact on urate metabolism.
Highlights
Gout, the most common form of inflammatory arthritis is the result of chronic hyperuricemia and the subsequent monosodium urate (MSU) crystal formation and deposition in articular cartilage and other joint and extra-articular tissues, which triggers an inflammatory response (Dalbeth et al 2019; Narang et al 2019)
Our findings revealed that taxonomic variations in the gut microbiome of gout patients with and with‐ out tophi might have a functional impact on urate metabolism
We present a robust description of the gut bacterial microbiome of Mexican gout patients and compare it in two different disease states of gout, in order to test the hypothesis that patients with gout and with tophaceous gout have changes in the structure and functional profile linked to uric acid synthesis and degradation pathways of their intestinal microbiota compared to healthy subjects
Summary
The most common form of inflammatory arthritis is the result of chronic hyperuricemia and the subsequent monosodium urate (MSU) crystal formation and deposition in articular cartilage and other joint and extra-articular tissues, which triggers an inflammatory response (Dalbeth et al 2019; Narang et al 2019). Shao et al found that the signatures of fecal microbiome and metabolome in gout patients can be characterized by disorders of metabolites involved in urate excretion and shifts in amino acids directly responsible of purine nucleoside biosynthesis. They identified an enrichment of opportunistic pathogens and a decreased α diversity (Shao et al 2017). We present a robust description of the gut bacterial microbiome of Mexican gout patients and compare it in two different disease states of gout, in order to test the hypothesis that patients with gout and with tophaceous gout have changes in the structure and functional profile linked to uric acid synthesis and degradation pathways of their intestinal microbiota compared to healthy subjects
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