Microbiome variance of the small bowel in Crohns disease

We read with interest the study by Clooney et al, which identified determinants of microbiome variance in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).1 Despite Crohn’s disease (CD) explaining most variance, most of the faecal microbiota variation was unexplained as previously described on population level.2 CD affects the entire gut, but most studies use stool samples as a proxy for the colonic environment.3 The small intestinal microbiome differs from stool and both vertical (proximal to distal) and horizontal (luminal to mucosal) gradients exist,4 but is generally understudied, especially in CD. Recently, we showed differences between the duodenal microbiota of healthy volunteers (HV) and functional dyspepsia (FD) patients,5 which may play a role in the pathogenesis of FD.6 Both aseptic duodenal and ileal samples (brush and biopsy)7 were collected during concurrent upper and lower endoscopy in patients with CD...

Source: Gut - July 6, 2023 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Wauters, L., Tito, R. Y., Ceulemans, M., Outtier, A., Rymenans, L., Verspecht, C., Sabino, J., Ferrante, M., Vermeire, S., Vanuytsel, T., Raes, J. Tags: Gut PostScript Source Type: research