Gut microbiota composition in travellers is associated with faecal lipocalin-2, a mediator of gut inflammation

Abstract

Introduction: We examined the gut microbiota of travellers returning from tropical areas with and without traveller's diarrhoea (TD) and its association with faecal lipocalin-2 (LCN2) levels.

Methods: Participants were recruited at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, Spain, and a single stool sample was collected from each individual to perform the diagnostic of the etiological agent causing gastrointestinal symptoms as well as to measure levels of faecal LCN2 as a biomarker of gut inflammation. We also characterised the composition of the gut microbiota by sequencing the region V3-V4 from the 16S rRNA gene, and assessed its relation with the clinical presentation of TD and LCN2 levels using a combination of conventional statistical tests and unsupervised machine learning approaches.

Results: Among 61 participants, 45 had TD, with 40% having identifiable etiological agents. Surprisingly, LCN2 levels were similar across groups, suggesting gut inflammation occurs without clinical TD symptoms. Differential abundance (DA) testing highlighted a microbial profile tied to high LCN2 levels, marked by increased Proteobacteria and Escherichia-Shigella, and decreased Firmicutes, notably Oscillospiraceae. UMAP analysis confirmed this profile's association, revealing distinct clusters based on LCN2 levels. The study underscores the discriminatory power of UMAP in capturing meaningful microbial patterns related to clinical variables. No relevant differences in the gut microbiota composition were found between travellers with or without TD.

Discussion: The findings suggest a correlation between gut microbiome and LCN2 levels during travel, emphasising the need for further research to discern the nature of this relationship.

Keywords: diarrhoea; inflammation; lipocalin-2; machine learning; microbiome; travel.