Exploring gut microbiota and its predicted functions in pulmonary tuberculosis: A multi-regional study using public...

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Infectious disease epidemiology
• Gut health and microbial ecology

Background:

• Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a significant global health issue, disproportionately affecting developing nations.
• This study investigates the gut microbiome's response to PTB and its treatment using 16S amplicon sequencing data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of antitubercular therapy on gut microbial diversity and function in PTB patients.
• To compare microbiome alterations across different geographical locations.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology v.2 (QIIME 2) for microbial diversity analysis.
• Employed Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States v.2 (PICRUSt 2) for functional pathway predictions.
• Analyzed publicly available 16S amplicon sequencing datasets from four geographical regions.

Main Results:

• Observed a statistically significant decrease in gut microbial alpha diversity in West African PTB patients after two months of antitubercular therapy.
• Found depletion in predicted microbial metabolic pathways, including vitamin and amino acid biosynthesis, and energy production, in PTB patients undergoing treatment.
• No significant differences in pairwise comparisons within locations or in aggregate beta diversity were detected.

Conclusions:

• Antitubercular therapy significantly influences gut microbial diversity and predicted function, with potential for longer treatments to exacerbate these changes.
• Geographical location plays a more critical role in shaping microbial diversity than the disease state.
• Findings suggest potential for precision medicine approaches to personalize interventions based on individual or regional microbiome profiles.