Biliary Microbiota in Choledocholithiasis and Correlation With Duodenal Microbiota

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Microbiology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• The pathogenesis of choledocholithiasis is linked to bacteria, but their predictive role and the characteristics of biliary microbiota remain unclear.
• Understanding biliary microbiota composition and function is crucial for predicting clinical conditions in choledocholithiasis patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive value of biliary bacteria in the clinical conditions of choledocholithiasis patients.
• To analyze the compositional and functional characteristics of biliary and duodenal microbiota in choledocholithiasis.

Main Methods:

• Clinical data from 488 choledocholithiasis patients were analyzed using logistic regression to assess bacterial predictive value.
• Bile and duodenal juice samples from 10 patients underwent 16S rRNA sequencing and Tax4Fun analysis for microbial community assessment.

Main Results:

• Bile bacteria species and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria correlated with choledocholithiasis recurrence, cholangitis severity, and hospital stay duration.
• Proteobacteria and Firmicutes were dominant phyla; Escherichia-Shigella, Fusobacterium, and Enterococcus were key genera.
• Biliary and duodenal microbiota showed similar compositions, functions (membrane transport, metabolism), and antimicrobial resistance patterns.

Conclusions:

• Biliary bacteria significantly predict clinical conditions in choledocholithiasis.
• Similarities between biliary and duodenal microbiota support the duodenal-biliary reflux theory.
• Duodenal juice can serve as an alternative to bile for bacterial culture and susceptibility testing when bile samples are unavailable.