Variability of core microbiota in newly diagnosed treatment-naïve paediatric inflammatory bowel disease patients.

T G J De Meij,A A Van Bodegraven,C F W Peeters,N K H De Boer,A Eck,M A Benninga,P H M Savelkoul,C M F Kneepkens,A E Budding,E F J De Groot,Leonardo A Sechi

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0197649

T G J De Meij, A A Van Bodegraven + Show 9 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197649

Copy DOI

Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Aug 13, 2018
Citations: 41	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Emma Kinderziekenhuis

Abstract

Background & aimsIntestinal microbiota is considered to play a crucial role in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to describe faecal microbiota composition and dynamics in a large cohort of children with de novo (naïve) IBD, in comparison to healthy paediatric controls (HC).MethodsIn this prospective study, performed at two tertiary centres, faecal samples from newly diagnosed, treatment-naïve paediatric IBD patients were collected prior to bowel cleansing for colonoscopy (t0) and 1, 3 and 6 weeks and 3 months after initiation of therapy. The microbial profiles of Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC) patients were compared with HC and linked to therapeutic response. Microbiota composition was analysed by IS-pro technology.ResultsMicrobial profiles of 104 new IBD-patients (63 CD, 41 UC, median age 14.0 years) were compared to 61 HC (median 7.8 years). IBD was mainly characterised by decreased abundance of Alistipes finegoldii and Alistipes putredinis, which characterize a healthy state microbial core. The classifier including these core species as predictors achieved an AUC of the ROC curve of .87. Core bacteria tended to regain abundance during treatment, but did not reach healthy levels.ConclusionFaecal microbiota profiles of children with de novo CD and UC can be discriminated from HC with high accuracy, mainly driven by a decreased abundance of species shaping the microbial core in the healthy state. Paediatric IBD can therefore be characterized by decreased abundance of certain bacterial species reflecting the healthy state rather than by the introduction of pathogens.

Highlights

Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two main phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which typically develop in the second or third decade of life, with up to 25% of patients presenting before 18 years of age or in young adulthood
IBD was mainly characterised by decreased abundance of Alistipes finegoldii and Alistipes putredinis, which characterize a healthy state microbial core
Faecal microbiota profiles of children with de novo CD and UC can be discriminated from healthy paediatric controls (HC) with high accuracy, mainly driven by a decreased abundance of species shaping the microbial core in the healthy state

Summary

Introduction

Crohn’s disease (CD) and Ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two main phenotypes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which typically develop in the second or third decade of life, with up to 25% of patients presenting before 18 years of age or in young adulthood. Host genetics contribute to microbiota composition and various IBD-related genes are involved in recognition and processing of bacteria [5] The intestinal microbiome has the capacity to affect barrier integrity and to induce an aberrant mucosal immune regulation [6,7,8,9]. The intestinal microbiota is characterized by a fairly stable composition over time with prominent fluctuations around the average, influenced by various factors, including antibiotics, probiotics, smoking and diet [11], thereby possibly altering the risk of diseases in which the microbiota is suggested to play a role, like IBD. Intestinal microbiota is considered to play a crucial role in the aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to describe faecal microbiota composition and dynamics in a large cohort of children with de novo (naïve) IBD, in comparison to healthy paediatric controls (HC)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion