The Microbiome Profile In Ulcerative Colitis And Pouchitis

Abstract Both ulcerative colitis and pouchitis are associated with an imbalance in the intestinal microbiota, which may be related to the immune response. The objective was to determine the bacterial composition in pouchitis and ulcerative colitis in order to explore the underlying pathogenesis. Microbiome was profiled and evaluated by 16S ribosomal DNA gene sequencing in stool samples of 37 patients with ulcerative colitis, 15 patients with normal ulcerative colitis-pouch, 15 patients with ulcerative colitis-pouchitis and 18 healthy volunteers, PICRUSt and PICRUSt2 were performed to analyze the function of dominant bacteria. In our Chinese cohort, with aggravation of ulcerative colitis, intestinal microorganisms were characterized by a gradual decreased in diversity and numbers of butyrate-producing bacteria and Bacteroides. Besides, in addition to the decrease of probiotics, the bloom of Escherichia-Shigella and Ruminococcus_gnavus was observed in pouchitis which related to multiple infection pathways according to KEEG pathway analysis. Our results showed that pouchitis and ulcerative colitis differ in their intestinal microbial structures and metabolic pathways, but the reasons need to be further explored.