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Updated: May 28, 2025
Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform
Published on: April 12, 2021
Pediatric kidney transplant recipients are at an increased risk for dysbiosis
Gizem Yılmaz1, Seha Saygılı2, Ayşe Ağbaş2
1Department of Pediatrics, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa, Istanbul, Türkiye.
Insights
Pediatric kidney transplant recipients show altered gut bacteria, with increased Verrucomicrobiota and decreased Firmicutes. These changes indicate gut dysbiosis and may impact transplant outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Immunology
Background:
- Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in host health and immune function.
- Dysbiosis, an imbalance in gut microbiota, is associated with various diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the gut microbiota composition between pediatric kidney transplant (KTx) recipients and healthy children.
- To identify specific microbial alterations in pediatric KTx recipients.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional observational study of 30 pediatric KTx recipients and 25 healthy children.
- 16S rRNA gene sequencing for gut microbiota assessment.
- Statistical analyses using Phyloseq, QIIME2, and LEfSe.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in alpha and beta diversity between groups.
- KTx recipients showed higher abundances of Verrucomicrobiota, Akkermansia, and Neisseria (p < 0.05).
- Decreased abundance of Firmicutes and increased bacterial abundance in KTx recipients with UTIs, diarrhea, or reduced GFR (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Pediatric KTx recipients exhibit significant gut microbiota alterations, suggesting dysbiosis.
- Further research is needed to understand the clinical impact and long-term consequences of these microbial changes.
Introduction:
This study aimed to compare the gut microbiota composition in pediatric kidney transplant (KTx) recipient with that of healthy children.
Methods:
This cross-sectional observational study included 30 pediatric KTx recipients aged between 7 and 21 years and 25 healthy children. The gut microbiota was assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, with alpha and beta diversity, as well as all statistical analyses, conducted using the Phyloseq library in the R programming language. Taxonomic profiles were evaluated with QIIME2, and differences in gut microbiota profiles were compared using linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEFSe) with an LDA threshold of >2 and p < 0.05.
Results:
No significant differences were found in alpha and beta diversity between the KTx recipients and healthy controls. However, KTx recipients exhibited significant alterations in microbiota composition, including higher relative abundances of Verrucomicrobiota at the phylum level, and Akkermansia and Neisseria at the genus level (p < 0.05 for all). Conversely, there was a decrease in bacterial genera belonging to the phylum Firmicutes. In addition, KTx recipients with a history of frequent urinary tract infections, diarrhea and reduced GFR showed significant increases in bacterial abundance (p < 0.05 for all).
Discussion:
Pediatric KTx recipients demonstrated significant alterarions in gut microbiota composition, indicating dysbiosis. Further studies are needed to elucidate the cause-and-effect relationships of these changes and their impact on clinical consequencies and long-term prognosis.
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