Analysis of gastric microbiota and Helicobacter pylori infection in gastroesophageal reflux disease

Alteration of gastric microbiota in Helicobacter pylori - infected individuals suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease, duodenal ulcer, and gastritis

BACKGROUND/AIM

Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) colonization affects the gastric microbiome, causing gastrointestinal (GI) diseases. Modern sequencing technology provides insights into GI microbe interaction with H. pylori and their metabolic pathways in causing GI diseases. We aim to compare the gastric microbiota alteration due to H. pylori infection in patients suffering from GI diseases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Genomic DNA were isolated from gastric antrum tissue from 37 H . pylori -infected patients diagnosed with GERD, duodenal ulcers, and gastritis. We conducted the genomic library preparation and sequencing of the amplified product using 16S rRNA NGS analysis. Using microbiome analyst tool diversity analysis, random forest analysis and ANOVA were conducted to find out the comparison of microbial abundance. We have also conducted functional pathway prediction analysis using PICRUSt.

RESULTS

Metagenomic analysis shows high bacterial diversity in H. pylori -positive gastritis patients. Streptococcus infantis and Neisseria subflava were significantly higher in duodenal ulcer (DU) and gastritis groups. Acinetobacter lwoffii and Helicobacter pullorum were significantly high in the gastritis group only. The functional metabolic pathway analyses revealed that gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) samples were significantly enriched with the energy metabolism and xenobiotic biodegradation and metabolism pathways, whereas fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase III was found less in gastritis and DU groups.

CONCLUSION

There is a difference in microbiota composition in different disease outcomes. We found positive association between microbial diversity and H. pylori in gastritis group only, whereas negative association was found in DU and GERD groups. The functional metabolic pathway analysis revealed significant differences in various disease outcomes.

Impacts of Helicobacter pylori infection and eradication on gastrointestinal microbiota: An up-to-date critical review and future perspectives

ABSTRACT

Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori ) infects approximately half of the population worldwide and causes chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer. Test-and-treat strategies have been recommended for the prevention of H. pylori -associated diseases. Advancements in high-throughput sequencing technologies have broadened our understanding of the complex gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota and its role in maintaining host homeostasis. Recently, an increasing number of studies have indicated that the colonization of H. pylori induces dramatic alterations in the gastric microbiota, with a predominance of H. pylori and a reduction in microbial diversity. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiome has also been observed after H. pylori infection, which may play a role in the development of colorectal cancer. However, there is concern regarding the impact of antibiotics on the gut microbiota during H. pylori eradication. In this review, we summarize the current literature concerning how H. pylori infection reshapes the GI microbiota and the underlying mechanisms, including changes in the gastric environment, immune responses, and persistent inflammation. Additionally, the impacts of H. pylori eradication on GI microbial homeostasis and the use of probiotics as adjuvant therapy are also discussed. The shifts in the GI microbiota and their crosstalk with H. pylori  may provide potential targets for H. pylori -related gastric diseases and extragastric manifestations.

Exacerbated interfacial impacts of nanoplastics and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate by natural organic matter in adult zebrafish: Evidence through histopathology, gut microbiota, and transcriptomic analysis

Nanoplastics (NPs) interact with cooccurring chemicals and natural organic matter (NOM) in the environment, forming complexes that can change their bioavailability and interfacial toxicity in aquatic organisms. This study aims to elucidate the single and combined impacts of 21-day chronic exposure to low levels of polystyrene NPs (size 80 nm) at 1 mg/L and 6:2 chlorinated polyfluorinated ether sulfonate (Cl-PFAES or F53B) at 200 μg/L in the presence and absence of NOM (humic acid-HA and bovine serum albumin-BSA at 10 mg/L) in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). Our findings through multiple bioassays, revealed that the mixture group (M), comprising of NPs, F53B, HA, and BSA, caused a higher level of toxicity compared to the single NPs (AN), single F53B (AF), and combined NPs+F53B (ANF) groups. The mixture exposure caused the highest level of vacuolization and nuclear condensation in hepatocytes, and most of the intestinal villi were fused and highly reduced in villi length and crypt depth. Further, the T-AOC levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05), while the MDA levels in the liver and intestine were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the M group with downregulation of nfkbiaa, while upregulation of prkcda, csf1ra, and il1b apoptosis genes in the liver. Pairwise comparison of gut microbiota showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) abundances of various genera in the M group, including Gordonia, Methylobacterium, Tundrisphaera, GKS98, Pedomicrobium, Clostridium, Candidatus and Anaerobacillus, as well as higher abundance of genera including pathogenic strains, while control group showed higher abundance of probiotic genus ZOR0006 than exposed group (p < 0.01). The transcriptomic analysis revealed highest number of DEGs in the M group (2815), followed by the AN group (506) and ANF group (206) with the activation of relaxin signaling pathway-RSP (slc9a1, slc9a2) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway (plin1), and suppression of the toll-like receptor (TLR) pathway (tlr4a, tlr2, tlr1), cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction (CCRI) pathway (tnfb, il21r1, il21, ifng1), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) pathway (pfkfb3). Overall, toxicity in the M group was higher, indicating that the HA and BSA elevated the interfacial impacts of NPs and F53B in adult zebrafish after chronic environmentally relevant exposure, implying the revisitation of the critical interaction of NOM with co-occurring chemicals and associated impacts.

Effect of Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Potassium-Competitive Acid Blocker (P-CAB) on the Microbiological Comprise of the Laryngopharynx

OBJECTIVE

To probe the microbiota composition progressing from healthy individuals to those with laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD) and subsequently undergoing potassium-competitive acid inhibitor (P-CAB) therapy.

STUDY DESIGN

Prospective case-control study.

SETTING

Academic Medical Center.

METHODS

Forty patients with LPRD and 51 patients without LPRD were recruited. An 8-week P-CAB therapy was initiated (post-T-LPRD), and 39 had return visits. In total, 130 laryngopharyngeal saliva samples were collected and sequenced by targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene using an Illumina MiSeq. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and clinical indices were analyzed.

RESULTS

Alpha and beta diversities were compared among the non-LPRD, LPRD, and post-T-LPRD groups, and the Observed_ASVs were not significantly different. At the same time, the Shannon and Simpson indices, unweighted Unifrac, weighted Unifrac, and binary Jaccard distance were significantly different between non-LPRD and LPRD groups. In addition, significant differences were found in the abundance of Streptococcus, Prevotella, and Prevotellaceae in the LPRD versus non-LPRD groups, and Neisseria, Leptotrichia, and Allprevotella in the LPRD versus post-T-LPRD groups. The genera model was used to distinguish patients with LPRD from those without, and a better receiver operating characteristic curve was formed after combining the clinical indices of reflux symptom index, reflux finding score, and pepsin, with an area under the curve of 0.960.

CONCLUSION

Laryngopharyngeal microbial communities changed after laryngopharyngeal reflux and were modified further after P-CAB treatment, which provides a potential diagnostic value for LPRD, especially when combined with clinical indices.

Fuzhengjiedu formula exerts protective effect against LPS-induced acute lung injury via gut-lung axis

BACKGROUND

Acute lung injury (ALI) is distinguished by rapid and severe respiratory distress and prolonged hypoxemia. A traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), known as the Fuzhengjiedu formula (FZJDF), has been shown to have anti-inflammatory benefits in both clinical and experimental studies. The precise underlying processes, nevertheless, are yet unclear.

PURPOSE

This study sought to enlighten the protective mechanism of FZJDF in ALI through the standpoint of the gut-lung crosstalk.

METHODS

The impact of FZJDF on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced ALI murine model were investigated, and the lung injury score, serum interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) expression were measured to confirm its anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, gut microbiota analysis and serum and fecal samples metabolomics were performed using metagenomic sequencing and high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, respectively.

RESULTS

FZJDF significantly induced histopathological changes caused by LPS-induced ALI as well as downregulated the serum concentration of IL-1β and TNF-α. Furthermore, FZJDF had an effect in gut microbiota disturbances, and linear discriminant effect size analysis identified signal transduction, cell motility, and amino acid metabolism as the potential mechanisms of action in the FZJDF-treated group. Several metabolites in the LPS and FZJDF groups were distinguished by untargeted metabolomic analysis. Correlations were observed between the relative abundance of microbiota and metabolic products. Comprehensive network analysis revealed connections among lung damage, gut microbes, and metabolites. The expression of glycine, serine, glutamate, cysteine, and methionine in the lung and colon tissues was dysregulated in LPS-induced ALI, and FZJDF reversed these trends.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed that FZJDF considerably protected against LPS-induced ALI in mice by regulating amino acid metabolism via the gut-microbiota-lung axis and offered thorough and in-depth knowledge of the multi-system linkages of systemic illnesses.