P322 Mycobiome signature in pediatric patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Murugesan, S.(1);Kumar, M.(1);Saadaoui, M.(1); Elhag, D.A.(1); Hendaus, M.A.(2); Ibrahim, N.(3); Al-Mudhaka, F.(3); AbuHazima, K.(3); Akobeng, A.(3);Elawad, M.(3);Al Khodor, S.(1)*;
(1)Sidra Medicine, Research, Doha, Qatar;(2)Sidra Medicine, Pediatrics, Doha, Qatar;(3)Sidra Medicine, Pediatrics Gastroenterology- Hepatology and Nutrition, Doha, Qatar;
Background
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) encompasses dysregulation of mucosal immunity involving multiple factors including diet, medication, family history, and the gut microbiome. The symptoms of Pediatric IBD are different from an adult-onset disease. Based on the clinical conditions, IBD can be classified into three categories: Crohn’s disease (CD), Ulcerative colitis (UC), and IBD-unclassified (IBDU). The gut bacteriome alteration is widely reported in IBD. But the gut mycobiome link to the disease remains sparse. This study compared mycobiome profile changes in pediatric patients with IBD and healthy controls.
Methods
Stool samples were collected from patients with CD (n = 110), UC (n=64), IBDU (n=23), and healthy control subjects (n = 42). ITS-2 (Internal Transcribed Spacer) libraries were sequenced and analyzed using the QIIME pipeline to assess the gut mycobiome composition. Lefse analysis was performed to identify the signature members among the study groups.
Results
Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were the most common phyla among the study groups. Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans were the most abundant species in the gut. Patients with IBDU and CD had significantly lower alpha and beta diversities compared to the controls.
Conclusion
Pediatric IBD is associated with reduced alpha and beta gut fungal microbiome diversity. Specific Candida taxa were found to be increased in abundance in the IBD samples. These results emphasize the potential importance of fungal microbiota signatures as biomarkers of pediatric IBD, supporting their possible role in disease pathogenesis.