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Abstract
Background To explore the correlation between gut microbiota and disease severity in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
Methods According to the natural course of the disease, 18 PBC patients were divided into two groups: early stage (asymptomatic stage and symptomatic stage) and decompensated stage. Ten patients with decompensated hepatitis B cirrhosis, 10 patients with decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis, and 10 healthy people were selected as controls. 16sRNA sequencing was performed in the fresh feces of the research subjects. To compare the composition of gut microbiota among decompensated PBC and early-stage PBC as well as other common decompensated chronic liver disease patients. Correlation analysis was conducted with clinical indicators.
Results The diversity and abundance of gut microbiota in PBC patients decreased significantly compared to the healthy control group. The composition of the gut microbiota in the early PBC group was similar to that of the healthy control group, while the composition of the gut microbiota in the decompensated PBC group was less similar to that of the healthy control group (figure 1). Upon correlating clinical indicators with gut microbiota, it was revealed that genera such as Roseburia, Agathobacter, and Ruminococcus were found to be negatively correlated with the Child-Pugh score and total bilirubin (TBIL) levels, while positively correlated with albumin levels (figure 2). Furthermore, employing LEfSe for all groups comparisons, a total of 8 potential biomarkers at the genus level were identified: Agathobacter and Fusicatenibacter in the healthy control; Ligilactobacillus and Roseburia in the early PBC group; Veillonella and Klebsiella in the decompensated PBC group; Dialister in the decompensated hepatitis B cirrhosis group; Faecalibacterium in the decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis group (figure 3).
(a)(b) The α-diversity analysis (ACE, Shannon) of the gut microbiota among PBC patients and healthy controls. (c)The β-diversity analysis of the gut microbiota among PBC patients and healthy controls
Correlations of altered gut microbiota with clinical characteristics in PBC patients
Key taxonomic differences of gut microbiota among the five groups
Conclusions The gut microbiota of PBC patients exhibit dysbiosis, suggesting its involvement in the pathogenesis of the disease. Gut microbiota may potentially distinguish PBC from other common decompensated chronic liver diseases. Certain specific gut microbiota may be associated with disease progression.