Microbial profiling of urothelial carcinoma and benign bladder tissue from formalin-fixed specimens

Host-associated microbiota can influence host immunity and tumor responses. Emerging evidence suggests the bladder microbiome contributes to urothelial cell carcinoma (UCC), though most data come from urine samples. Urinary microbiomes are different in UCC compared to inflamed bladder, though their impact on host immune responses is understudied. Similarly, the effect of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) treatment on bladder microbiome remains unexplored.

Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) specimens from UCC tumor stages (T1 = 42), (T2 = 5), and 16 benign pathologies were examined. Six patients who underwent BCG vaccine with post-treatment TURBT specimens were examined. Microbial communities were characterized using RNA extraction, reverse transcription, and 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.

UCC patients exhibited greater microbial diversity and distinct bladder microbiome compositions compared to those with benign pathology. Several genera in the bladder including Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Actinomyces, and Cutibacterium were more abundant in the benign group. Conversely, T1-UCC patients showed higher relative abundances of putative proinflammatory genera including Escherichia-Shigella and unclassified Yersiniaceae, plus commonly reported skin-associated dysbiotic genera Enhydrobacter and Micrococcus. Five of 6 BCG-treated patients showed marked reduction in microbial diversity along with significant alteration in their microbiome composition, including decreased relative abundance of bacteria from genera Streptococcus and Rothia.

This proof-of-concept study suggests that: (1) microbiome sequencing from FFPE TURBT specimens can be used for microbiota assessment and can effectively distinguish UCC from benign pathology. (2) bladder microbiomes are heavily depleted following BCG treatment, indicating therapy-induced microbiome alterations.