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A comprehensive analysis of the faecal microbiome and metabolome of Strongyloides stercoralis infected volunteers from a non-endemic area.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Castro, Cecilia 
Perandin, Francesca 

Abstract

Data from recent studies support the hypothesis that infections by human gastrointestinal (GI) helminths impact, directly and/or indirectly, on the composition of the host gut microbial flora. However, to the best of our knowledge, these studies have been conducted in helminth-endemic areas with multi-helminth infections and/or in volunteers with underlying gut disorders. Therefore, in this study, we explore the impact of natural mono-infections by the human parasite Strongyloides stercoralis on the faecal microbiota and metabolic profiles of a cohort of human volunteers from a non-endemic area of northern Italy (S+), pre- and post-anthelmintic treatment, and compare the findings with data obtained from a cohort of uninfected controls from the same geographical area (S-). Analyses of bacterial 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing data revealed increased microbial alpha diversity and decreased beta diversity in the faecal microbial profiles of S+ subjects compared to S-. Furthermore, significant differences in the abundance of several bacterial taxa were observed between samples from S+ and S- subjects, and between S+ samples collected pre- and post-anthelmintic treatment. Faecal metabolite analysis detected marked increases in the abundance of selected amino acids in S+ subjects, and of short chain fatty acids in S- subjects. Overall, our work adds valuable knowledge to current understanding of parasite-microbiota associations and will assist future mechanistic studies aimed to unravel the causality of these relationships.

Description

Keywords

Amino Acids, Animals, Anthelmintics, Bacteria, Biodiversity, Fatty Acids, Feces, Healthy Volunteers, Humans, Metabolome, Microbiota, Phylogeny, Strongyloides stercoralis, Strongyloidiasis

Journal Title

Sci Rep

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2045-2322
2045-2322

Volume Title

8

Publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Sponsorship
Medical Research Council (MR/P011705/1)
Medical Research Council (MR/P01836X/1)