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Fecal Clostridiales distribution and short‐chain fatty acids reflect bowel habits in irritable bowel syndrome
Author(s) -
Gargari Giorgio,
Taverniti Valentina,
Gardana Claudio,
Cremon Cesare,
Canducci Filippo,
Pagano Isabella,
Barbaro Maria Raffaella,
Bellacosa Lara,
Castellazzi Anna Maria,
Valsecchi Chiara,
Tagliacarne Sara Carlotta,
Bellini Massimo,
Bertani Lorenzo,
Gambaccini Dario,
Marchi Santino,
Cicala Michele,
Germanà Bastianello,
Dal Pont Elisabetta,
Vecchi Maurizio,
Ogliari Cristina,
Fiore Walter,
Stanghellini Vincenzo,
Barbara Giovanni,
Guglielmetti Simone
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14271
Subject(s) - irritable bowel syndrome , clostridiales , diarrhea , biology , feces , gastroenterology , constipation , gut flora , medicine , functional gastrointestinal disorder , clostridiaceae , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , toxin
Summary Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a common functional gastrointestinal disorder, is classified according to bowel habits as IBS with constipation (IBS‐C), with diarrhea (IBS‐D), with alternating constipation and diarrhea (IBS‐M), and unsubtyped (IBS‐U). The mechanisms leading to the different IBS forms are mostly unknown. This study aims to evaluate whether specific fecal bacterial taxa and/or short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs) can be used to distinguish IBS subtypes and are relevant for explaining the clinical differences between IBS subcategories. We characterized five fecal samples collected at 4‐weeks intervals from 40 IBS patients by 16S rRNA gene profiling and SCFA quantification. Finally, we investigated the potential correlations in IBS subtypes between the fecal microbial signatures and host physiological and clinical parameters. We found significant differences in the distribution of Clostridiales OTUs among IBS subtypes and reduced levels of SCFAs in IBS‐C compared to IBS‐U and IBS‐D patients. Correlation analyses showed that the diverse representation of Clostridiales OTUs between IBS subtypes was associated with altered levels of SCFAs; furthermore, the same OTUs and SCFAs were associated with the fecal cytokine levels and stool consistency. Our results suggest that intestinal Clostridiales and SCFAs might serve as potential mechanistic biomarkers of IBS subtypes and represent therapeutic targets.