Alterations in the intestinal microbiota associated with active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection

Yuan Huang; Jinhua Tang; Zheng Cai; Yun Qi; Shen Jiang; Tingting Ma; Ying Yue; Fang Huang; Han Yang; Yueyun Ma

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22124

Alterations in the intestinal microbiota associated with active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection

Heliyon. 2023 Nov 11;9(11):e22124. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22124. eCollection 2023 Nov.

Authors

Yuan Huang^{1

2}, Jinhua Tang¹, Zheng Cai¹, Yun Qi³, Shen Jiang³, Tingting Ma³, Ying Yue³, Fang Huang⁴, Han Yang⁴, Yueyun Ma¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Air Force Medical Center, Beijing, 100142, China.
² Department of Clinical Laboratory, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, 100730, China.
³ Department of Gynecology & Pediatrics, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710100, China.
⁴ Department of Clinical Laboratory, Xi'an Chest Hospital, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, 710100, China.

Abstract

Objectives: To study the characteristics of intestinal microbiota at different stages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Methods: Fecal samples of 19 active tuberculosis (ATB) patients, 21 latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) individuals, and 20 healthy controls (HC) were collected. Gut microbiota of all the participants were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing. Clinical information of ATB patients was also collected and analyzed.

Results: Both ATB and LTBI groups showed significant decreases in microbial diversity and decline of Clostridia. For ATB patients, bacteria within phylum Proteobacteria increased. While for LTBI individuals, genera Prevotella and Rosburia enriched. The abundance of Faecalibacterium, Clostridia and Gammaproteobacteria has the potential to diagnose ATB, with the area under the curve (AUC) of 0.808, 0.784 and 0.717. And Prevotella and Rosburia has the potential to diagnose LTBI, with the AUC of 0.689 and 0.689. Notably, in ATB patients, the relative abundance of Blautia was negatively correlated with the proportions of peripheral T cells and CD8⁺T cells. And serum direct bilirubin was positively correlated with Bacteroidales, while negatively correlated with Clostridiales in ATB patients.

Conclusions: The specifically changed bacteria are promising markers for ATB and LTBI diagnosis. Some gut bacteria contribute to anti-MTB immunity through interactions with T cells and bilirubin.

Keywords: 16S rDNA sequencing; Active tuberculosis (ATB); Human gut microbiota; Latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI); Microbial diversity; Mycobacterium tuberculosis.