Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 3, 2025
Therapeutic Evaluation of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in an Interleukin 10-Deficient Mouse Model
Published on: April 6, 2022
Targeted Analysis of the Gut Microbiome for Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment Individualization in Pediatric
Christine Olbjørn1, Milada Cvancarova Småstuen2, Aina Elisabeth Fossum Moen3
1Department for Paediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Akershus University Hospital, NO-1470 Lørenskog, Norway.
Insights
Fecal microbiota analysis in children reveals reduced beneficial bacteria in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and non-IBD patients. Bacterial abundance can help diagnose IBD, differentiate Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis, and predict treatment needs.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Gut Microbiome Research
Background:
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects children, with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) being common forms.
- Understanding the gut microbiome's role in pediatric IBD is crucial for diagnosis and management.
- Treatment-naïve pediatric IBD patients present unique microbial profiles compared to healthy children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate fecal microbiota composition in treatment-naïve pediatric IBD patients.
- To compare microbial profiles between pediatric IBD subtypes (CD and UC) and non-IBD controls.
- To develop microbial-based indexes for IBD diagnosis, disease phenotype, and prognosis.
Main Methods:
- Targeted quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to quantify over 100 bacterial species.
- Fecal samples were analyzed from pediatric patients with IBD (CD and UC), non-IBD gastrointestinal patients, and healthy children.
- Diagnostic, Phenotype, and Prognostic Indexes were constructed based on bacterial species abundance.
Main Results:
- IBD and non-IBD patients showed significantly reduced abundance of beneficial bacterial species compared to healthy children.
- Crohn's disease patients exhibited lower Bifidobacterium species abundance than ulcerative colitis patients.
- IBD patients requiring biologic therapy had a lower abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria.
- High Diagnostic Index correlated with increased odds of having IBD (2.5x).
- Crohn's disease patients had a higher Phenotype Index than ulcerative colitis patients.
- High Prognostic Index correlated with increased odds of needing biologic therapy (2.1x).
Conclusions:
- Fecal bacterial abundance can serve as a biomarker for diagnosing pediatric IBD.
- Microbiota analysis aids in differentiating between pediatric Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
- Microbial profiling can identify pediatric IBD patients likely to require biologic therapy.
Abstract:
We explored the fecal microbiota in pediatric patients <18 years of age with treatment-naïve IBD (80 Crohn’s disease (CD), 27 ulcerative colitis (UC)), in 50 non-IBD patients with gastrointestinal symptoms without inflammation and in 75 healthy children. Using a targeted qPCR approach, the quantities of more than 100 different bacterial species were measured. Results: The bacterial abundance was statistically significantly reduced in the IBD and non-IBD patients compared to the healthy children for several beneficial species. The CD patients had a lower abundance of Bifidobacterium species compared to the UC patients, and the IBD patients in need of biologic therapy had a lower abundance of butyrate producing bacteria. Based on the abundance of bacterial species at diagnosis, we constructed Diagnostic, Phenotype and Prognostic Indexes. Patients with a high Diagnostic Index had 2.5 times higher odds for having IBD than those with a lower index. The CD patients had a higher Phenotype Index than the UC patients. Patients with a high Prognostic Index had 2.1 higher odds for needing biologic therapy compared to those with a lower index. Conclusions: The fecal abundance of bacterial species can aid in diagnosing IBD, in distinguishing CD from UC and in identifying children with IBD in need of biologic therapy.
More Related Videos
08:33Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Analyses of Murine Intestinal Microbiota After Oral Antibiotic Treatment
Published on: November 17, 2018
07:05Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
Related Concept Videos
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...
01:29Inflammatory Bowel Disease IV: Pharmacological Management
Pharmacologic...
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
01:27Inflammatory Bowel Disease I: Ulcerative Colitis
Inflammatory bowel disease, or IBD, encompasses a group of disorders characterized by chronic inflammation or ulceration of the gastrointestinal tract.
Risk Factors
The exact cause of IBD remains unclear, although it is believed to be due to a mix of genetic, environmental, microbial, and immune factors. Genetic factors are significant in determining susceptibility to IBD, with family history being a critical risk factor. Individuals with a first-degree relative who has IBD are at...
01:21Inflammatory Bowel Disease V: Surgical Management
Here are some common surgical interventions for IBD:
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by...