The following is a summary of “Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Suspected Food Protein Induced Proctocolitis—A Prospective Comparative Cohort Trial,” published in the July 2023 issue of Pediatrics by Wurm, et al.
For a study, researchers sought to investigate the gut microbiota composition in infants with suspected food protein-induced proctocolitis (sFPIP) and healthy controls and to explore the impact of diagnostic dietary intervention (DDI) on the gut microbiota of sFPIP infants.
For the prospective study, infants with sFPIP and healthy controls were recruited. Fecal samples were collected from both groups at three-time points: at the beginning of the study, at the end of the 4-week DDI period in sFPIP infants, and week 8. The microbial composition was analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing (515F/806R) with the Illumina MiSeq sequencing system. Amplicon sequence variants were generated through Qiime2 and DADA2, and the Qiime diversity alpha and beta group comparisons were conducted. Additionally, linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis was performed to identify significant differences in microbial composition between the two groups. Shotgun metagenomic analysis on the species level was conducted using KneadData and MetaPhlAn2.
The study included 14 sFPIP infants and 55 healthy infants. At the beginning of the study, the overall microbial composition of sFPIP infants differed significantly from that of healthy controls (weighted UniFrac; Pairwise PERMANOVA, P = 0.002, pseudo-F = 5.008). At the genus level, healthy infant microbiota showed significant enrichment of Bifidobacterium (B) compared to sFPIP patients (linear discriminant analysis [LDA] = 5.5, P < 0.001, 31.3% vs 12.1%). On the other hand, sFPIP stool was significantly enriched with Clostridium sensu stricto 1 compared to controls (LDA = 5.3, P = 0.003, 3.5% vs 18.3%). Following DDI, there was a significant and sustained increase in Bifidobacterium in sFPIP infants (LDA = 5.4, P = 0.048, 27.9%). Species level analysis revealed a significant reduction in the abundance of Bifidobacterium longum in sFPIP patients, which was reversed by the presence of other Bifidobacterium species after DDI.
The study highlighted a gut microbiota dysbiosis phenomenon in infants with sFPIP. Diagnostic dietary intervention induced a gut microbiota composition in sFPIP infants resembling healthy infants. The findings suggested that gut microbiota dysbiosis might play a role in triggering hematochezia in most sFPIP infants.
Source: journals.lww.com/jpgn/Abstract/2023/07000/Gut_Microbiota_Dysbiosis_in_Suspected_Food_Protein.5.aspx