Vancomycin exposure caused opportunistic pathogens bloom in intestinal microbiome by simulator of the human
Lei Liu1, Qing Wang2, Xinyan Wu1
1College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300350, China.
Abstract:
Antibiotics are emerging organic pollutants posing high health risks to humans by causing human intestinal microbial disorders with increasing abundances of opportunistic pathogens, and fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has been confirmed to restore the dysbiosis of gut flora in many kinds of intestinal disease. However, to date, few studies have focused on the bloomed opportunistic pathogens associated human disease-related pathways as well as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) after vancomycin exposure, and there is limited information on using FMT for restoration of intestinal microbiome affected by antibiotics. Therefore, this study investigated effects of vancomycin on the opportunistic pathogens, human disease-related pathways as well as ARGs in human gut, and the restoration of intestinal microbiome by FMT. Results indicated that vancomycin treatment substantially increased human disease-related pathways and decreased abundances of ARGs. Besides, the bloomed opportunistic pathogens including Achromobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas, caused by vancomycin exposure, were positively correlated with human disease-related pathways. The microbiota abundance and genes of human disease-related pathways and antibiotic resistance showed a remarkable return towards baseline after FMT, but not for natural recovery. These findings suggest that impacts of vancomycin on human gut are profound and FMT will be a promising strategy in clinical application that can restore the dysbiosis of gut microbiota, which may be valuable for directing future work.
Insights
Vancomycin disrupts the gut microbiome, increasing opportunistic pathogens and disease pathways. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) effectively restores gut health and antibiotic resistance genes, unlike natural recovery.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Environmental Health
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Antibiotics are emerging organic pollutants with significant health risks.
- Antibiotic use can lead to gut microbial disorders and opportunistic pathogen blooms.
- Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is recognized for restoring gut dysbiosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate vancomycin's effects on opportunistic pathogens, disease pathways, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the human gut.
- To evaluate FMT's efficacy in restoring the antibiotic-affected intestinal microbiome.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of opportunistic pathogens, human disease-related pathways, and ARGs after vancomycin exposure.
- Assessment of microbiome restoration using FMT compared to natural recovery.
Main Results:
- Vancomycin significantly increased human disease-related pathways and decreased ARG abundances.
- Opportunistic pathogens like Achromobacter, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas correlated with disease pathways.
- FMT markedly restored microbial abundance and disease/resistance gene profiles to baseline, outperforming natural recovery.
Conclusions:
- Vancomycin profoundly impacts the human gut microbiome.
- FMT is a promising clinical strategy for restoring antibiotic-induced gut dysbiosis.
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