AUTHOR=Chen Ying , Xia Shou-Yue , Ru Fu-Xia , Feng Jun-Jie , Tao Ji , Wei Zhi-Yuan , Li Xiu , Qian Chengjia , Lin Qiong , Chen Jian-Huan 

TITLE=Gastric juice microbiota in pediatric chronic gastritis that clinically tested positive and negative for Helicobacter pylori

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1112709

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1112709

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Purpose</title><p><italic>Helicobacter pylori</italic> (HP) infection is an identified risk factor for pediatric chronic gastritis (PCG), but its impact on gastric juice microbiota (GJM) remains to be further elucidated in PCG. This study aimed to analyze and compare the microbial communities and microbial interactive networks of GJM in PCG that clinically tested positive and negative for HP (HP+ and HP−, respectively).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>A total of 45 PCG patients aged from 6 to 16 years were recruited, including 20 HP+ and 25 HP− patients tested by culture and rapid urease test. Gastric juice samples were collected from these PCG patients and subjected to high-throughput amplicon sequencing and subsequent analysis of 16S rRNA genes.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>While no significant change in alpha diversity, significant differences in beta diversity were observed between HP+ and HP− PCG. At the genus level, <italic>Streptococcus, Helicobacter</italic>, and <italic>Granulicatella</italic> were significantly enriched in HP+ PCG, whereas <italic>Campylobacter</italic> and <italic>Absconditabacteriales (SR1)</italic> were significantly enriched in <italic>HP</italic>− PCG. Network analysis showed that <italic>Streptococcus</italic> was the only genus positively correlated with <italic>Helicobacter</italic> (<italic>r</italic> = 0.497) in the GJM net<italic>work</italic> of overall PCG. Moreover, compared to HP− PCG, HP+ PCG showed a reduction in microbial network connectivity in GJM. Netshift analysis identified driver microbes including <italic>Streptococcus</italic> and other four genera, which substantially contributed to the GJM network transition from HP− PCG to HP+ PCG. Furthermore, Predicted GJM function analysis indicated up-regulated pathways related to the metabolism of nucleotides, carbohydrates, and L-Lysine, the urea cycle, as well as endotoxin peptidoglycan biosynthesis and maturation in HP+ PCG.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>GJM in HP+ PCG exhibited dramatically altered beta diversity, taxonomic structure, and function, with reduced microbial network connectivity, which could be involved in the disease etiology.</p></sec>