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Updated: Jun 16, 2025
Applying Advanced In Vitro Culturing Technology to Study the Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: February 15, 2019
The Composition of the Fecal and Mucosa-adherent Microbiota Varies Based on Age and Disease Activity in Ulcerative
Mikkel Malham1,2, Marie V Vestergaard3,4, Thomas Bataillon3
1Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Copenhagen University Hospital-Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark.
Insights
Pediatric ulcerative colitis (pUC) patients exhibit a less stable fecal microbiota and lower microbial diversity compared to adults. Microbiota composition differs significantly between pediatric and adult UC, suggesting personalized treatment strategies.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Pediatric-onset ulcerative colitis (pUC) often presents with a more aggressive disease course than adult-onset UC (aUC).
- The distinct clinical phenotypes may be influenced by differences in gut microbiota composition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare the microbiota composition in pediatric and adult patients with ulcerative colitis.
- To explore potential microbial explanations for the more aggressive nature of pUC.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, longitudinal study included 30 pediatric and 30 adult UC patients.
- Analyzed mucosa-adherent microbiota via 16S rRNA gene sequencing and fecal microbiota using shotgun metagenomics at baseline and 3-month intervals.
Main Results:
- Fecal bacterial composition differed between newly diagnosed pUC and aUC patients (β-diversity).
- Adult UC patients showed higher microbial diversity in colon biopsies (α-diversity) compared to pediatric patients.
- Alistipes finegoldii showed opposing associations with disease activity in pUC versus aUC.
- Pediatric patients displayed reduced fecal microbiota stability compared to adults.
Conclusions:
- Pediatric UC patients have a more unstable fecal microbiota and lower α diversity than adult UC patients.
- Significant differences in microbiota composition exist between pUC and aUC.
- Findings suggest the need for individualized approaches in microbiota-targeted UC treatments.
Background:
Pediatric-onset ulcerative colitis (pUC) represents a more aggressive disease phenotype compared with adult-onset UC. We hypothesized that this difference can, in part, be explained by the composition of the microbiota.
Methods:
In a prospective, longitudinal study, we included pediatric (N = 30) and adult (N = 30) patients with newly or previously (>1 year) diagnosed UC. We analyzed the microbiota composition in the mucosa-adherent microbiota at baseline, using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and the fecal microbiota at baseline and at 3-month intervals, using shotgun metagenomics.
Results:
For fecal samples, the bacterial composition differed between pUC and aUC in newly diagnosed patients (β-diversity, Bray Curtis: R2 = 0.08, P = .02). In colon biopsies, microbial diversity was higher in aUC compared with pUC (α-diversity, Shannon: estimated difference 0.54, P = .006). In the mucosa-adherent microbiota, Alistipes finegoldii was negatively associated with disease activity in pUC while being positively associated in aUC (estimate: -0.255 and 0.098, P = .003 and P = .02 in pUC and aUC, respectively). Finally, we showed reduced stability of the fecal microbiota in pediatric patients, evidenced by a different composition of the fecal microbiota in newly and previously diagnosed pUC, a pattern not found in adults.
Conclusions:
Our results indicate that pediatric UC patients have a more unstable fecal microbiota and a lower α diversity than adult patients and that the microbiota composition differs between aUC and pUC patients. These findings offer some explanation for the observed differences between pUC and aUC and indicate that individualized approaches are needed if microbiota modifications are to be used in the future treatment of UC.
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