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Enteric bacterial infections associated with increased Escherichia abundance in gut microbiome
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Patients with enteric bacterial infections were found to have similar increases in abundance of Escherichia in their intestinal microbiomes, a finding which could lead to new treatments for severe diarrhea caused by these pathogens, according to a press release.
Shannon D. Manning, PhD, from the department of microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State University, and colleagues used 16S rRNA sequencing to assess the composition and abundance of intestinal microbiota in 310 stool samples from 200 patients with acute enteric infections from four hospitals compared with samples from 75 uninfected family members. They also examined samples from 13 patients to evaluate changes in intestinal microbiota 14 weeks after recovery.
“Compared to the uninfected patients in the study, the patients who were infected with four different diarrheal pathogens — Salmonella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Campylobacter and Shigella — all had increased levels of Escherichia,” Manning said in the press release. “In addition, patients had a decrease in the Escherichia population after they recovered.”
They also found that patients with more severe disease involving bloody diarrhea had similar microbial community profiles regardless of age, gender or race.
“Future enteric disease prevention strategies could therefore aim to decrease intestinal Escherichia levels at the time of an acute infection while simultaneously boosting microbes including Bacteroidetes that are most important for restoring intestinal health,” the researchers wrote. – by Adam Leitenberger
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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