AUTHOR=Zhang Ruoyan , Qiu Wei , Sun Xiaodong , Li Jing , Geng Xiaochen , Yu Shichao , Liu Ying , Huang Heyu , Li Mingyue , Fan Zhongqi , Li Mingqian , Lv Guoyue
TITLE=Gut microbiota dynamics in a 1-year follow-up after adult liver transplantation in Northeast China
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology
VOLUME=14
YEAR=2023
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1266635
DOI=10.3389/fphys.2023.1266635
ISSN=1664-042X
ABSTRACT=Background: Liver transplantation (LTx) is the most effective treatment for end-stage liver diseases. Gut microorganisms influence the host physiology. We aim to profile the dynamics of gut microbiota in the perioperative period and a 1-year follow-up of LTx recipients in Northeast China.
Methods: A total of 257 fecal samples were longitudinally collected from 85 LTx patients using anal swabs from pre-LTx to 1-year post-LTx. A total of 48 fecal samples from end-stage liver disease patients without LTx served as the control. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze gut microbiota diversity, bacterial genera, phenotype classification, and metabolic pathways.
Results: The diversity of gut microbiota decreased significantly after transplantation, accompanied by a profound change in the microbial structure, which is characterized by increased abundance of facultative anaerobic bacteria dominated by g_Enterococcus and reduced anaerobic bacteria composition. Predicted functional analysis also revealed disturbances in the metabolic pathway of the gut microbiota. After LTx, the diversity of microbiota gradually recovered but to a less preoperative level after 1 year of recovery. Compared with pre-transplantation, the microbiome structure was characterized by an increase in Acidaminococcus and Acidithiobacillus after 1 year of transplantation.
Conclusion: LTx and perioperative treatment triggered gut microbial dysbiosis. The gut microbiota was restructured after LTx to near to but significantly differed from that of pre-LTx.