AUTHOR=Chen Yanfei , Guo Jing , Shi Ding , Fang Daiqiong , Chen Chunlei , Li Lanjuan 

TITLE=Ascitic Bacterial Composition Is Associated With Clinical Outcomes in Cirrhotic Patients With Culture-Negative and Non-neutrocytic Ascites

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2018.00420

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2018.00420

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>Ascites bacterial burden is associated with poor clinical outcomes in patients with end-stage liver disease. However, the impact of ascitic microbial composition on clinical course was still not clear. In this study, the ascitic microbiota composition of 100 cirrhotic patients with culture-negative and non-neutrocytic ascites were researched with 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and enterotype-like cluster analysis.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> By characterizing the ascitic microbial composition, two distinct microbial clusters were observed, Cluster 1 (86 patients) and Cluster 2 (14 patients). Cluster 1 showed lower microbial richness than Cluster 2. At the phylum level, Cluster 1 had greater abundance of <italic>Bacteroidetes</italic> and <italic>Firmicutes</italic>, but less abundance of <italic>Proteobacteria</italic> and <italic>Actinobacteria</italic> than Cluster 2. At the family level, family <italic>Bacteroidales S24-7</italic> group, <italic>Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Lactobacillaceae, Rikenellaceae</italic>, and <italic>Vibrionaceae</italic> were found over-represented in Cluster 1. And family <italic>Acetobacteraceae, Erysipelotrichaceae, Rickettsiaceae</italic>, and <italic>Streptococcaceae</italic> were found enriched in Cluster 2. The levels of plasma cytokine IL-17A, IL-7, and PDGF-BB were found significantly higher in Cluster 1 than in Cluster 2. There were four OTUs closely correlated with plasma cytokines, which were OTU 140 and OTU 271 (both from <italic>Bacteroidales S24-7</italic> group), OTU 68 (<italic>Veillonellaceae</italic>), and OTU 53 (<italic>Helicobacteraceae</italic>). Patients from Cluster 1 showed significant higher short-term mortality than patients from Cluster 2.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our study demonstrated that the microbial composition of culture-negative and non-neutrocytic ascites in cirrhotic patients is associated with short-term clinical outcomes. The results here offer a rational for the identification of patients with high risk, and provide references for selective use of prophylactic methods.</p>