Altering Gut-Associated Microbiota: A Possible Role in the Pathogenesis of Ulcerative Colitis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVESGastrointestinal microbiota are closely related to the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, the relative abundance of microbial populations between the UC and non-UC subjects were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).MATERIALS AND METHODSDNA extraction from biopsies and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of bacterial ۱۶S rRNA gene-targeted species-specific primers was performed to detect the anaerobic bacterial species. The qRT-PCR was used to show the relative change in the bacterial populations of F. prausnitzii, Provetella, and Peptostreptococcus in the UC and non-UC subjects.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONOur data for detection of the anaerobic intestinal flora showed Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Provetella and Peptostreptococcus were the predominant microflora in the controls and showed significant differences (p = ۰.۰۰۲, ۰.۰۲۵ and ۰.۰۳۹, respectively). The qRT-PCR analyses of F. prausnitzii, Provetella and Peptostreptococcus were ۸.۶۹-, ۹.۳۸- and ۵.۷۷-higher, respectively, in the control group than in the UC group.CONCLUSIONThe decreased abundance of F. prausnitzii, Provetella and Peptostreptococcus in the intestine may decrease anti‐inflammatory activity in the mucosa, biosynthesis of vitamins and the ability to degrade plant polysaccharides and digest carbohydrate-rich food. Additionally, the decreased ability of microbes to utilize mucins and metabolize tryptophan could reduce protection of the gut mucosa and be relevant to the pathophysiology of UC.