Dynamic Population of Gut Microbiota as an Indicator of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Authors
Afsaneh Salimi 1
Amin Sepehr 1
Hossein Ajdarkosh 2
Shadi Aghamohamad 1
Maliheh Talebi 3
Mahdi Rohani* 1
Mohammad Reza Pourshafie 1
1 Department of Microbiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran
2 Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease Research Center, Firoozgar Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
10.52547/ibj.3772
Abstract
Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. The gut microbiota is an important factor in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Due to a link between the gut microbiota and IBD, studying microbiota changes using an accurate, sensitive and rapid method for detection of the disease seems necessary. This study aimed to compare the composition of gut microbiota in three groups of people, including IBD patients, cured Inflammatory bowel disease (CIBD), and healthy groups.

Methods: For this study, 45 stool samples (15 from each group) were collected. Using real-time PCR, the abundance of 11 bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences was examined.

Results: In the IBD group, the number of three bacterial phyla, including Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, decreased (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively), while the population of γ-Proteobacteria increased significantly (p < 0.0001). In the CIBD group, the number of Actinobacteria enhanced (p < 0.01), but that of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes decreased (p < 0.01, and p < 0.05, respectively).

Conclusion: Findings of this study indicate that decrease in Firmicutes and increase in γ-Proteobacteria could be used as an indicator of IBD instead of employing invasive and costly detection methods such as colonoscopy and other tests.
Keywords
Inflammatory bowel disease
Microbiota
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction