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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1558983
This article is part of the Research Topic Role of bioinformatics and AI in understanding inflammation and immune microenvironment dynamics View all 6 articles
Distinct Microbial Signatures and Their Predictive Value in Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis: Insights from 5-region 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing
Provisionally accepted
Qiwen Wang 
Haorui Zheng *
Yang Yang Xinyao Chang * Zengkan Du * Zining Hang * Zhaoshen Li *
Zhuan Liao *- Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP) poses significant clinical challenges, with 32.3% developing to chronic pancreatitis within 5 years. The underlying microbial factors contributing to RAP remain poorly understood. This study aims to identify blood microbial signatures associated with RAP and explore the potential microbial predictors for RAP.In this prospective cohort, 90 acute pancreatitis patients are classified into non-recurrent acute pancreatitis (NRAP, n=68) and RAP (n=22) groups based on the number of pancreatitis episodes. Microbial composition of blood samples is analyzed using 5region (5R) 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Key microbial taxa and functional predictions are made. A random forest model is used to assess the predictive value of microbial features for RAP. The impact of Staphylococcus hominis (S. hominis) on RAP is further evaluated in an experimental mouse model.Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis highlights significant microbial differences, with Paracoccus aminovorans, Corynebacterium glucuronolyticum and S. hominis being prominent in RAP. Functional predictions indicate enrichment of metabolic pathways in the RAP group. Random forest analysis identifies key microbial taxa with an AUC value of 0.759 for predicting RAP.Experimental validation shows that S. hominis exacerbates pancreatic inflammation in mice.This study identifies distinct clinical and microbial features associated with RAP, emphasizing the role of specific bacterial taxa in pancreatitis recurrence. The findings suggest that microbial profiling could enhance the diagnosis and management of RAP, paving the way for personalized therapeutic approaches.
Keywords: acute pancreatitis, Recurrent acute pancreatitis, microbiome, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, Staphylococcus hominis
Received: 11 Jan 2025; Accepted: 13 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Zheng, Yang, Chang, Du, Hang, Li and Liao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Haorui Zheng, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Xinyao Chang, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Zengkan Du, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Zining Hang, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Zhaoshen Li, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
Zhuan Liao, Department of Gastroenterology, Shanghai Institute of Pancreatic Diseases, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, China., Shanghai, China
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