Uncontrolled preliminary study on the clinical efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation in irritable bowel syndrome and its influence on gut microbiota / 中华消化杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and to explore the effects of FMT on the gut microbiota of IBS patients.Methods:From September 2016 to August 2017, at Guangzhou First People′s Hospital, 28 hospitalized IBS patients who underwent FMT treatment were enrolled. Before FMT, four and 12 weeks after FMT, all the IBS patients completed the irritable bowel syndrome quality of life scale (IBS-QOL), irritable bowel syndrome severity scoring system (IBS-SSS) and gastrointestinal symptom rating scale (GSRS). 16S rDNA sequencing was performed before FMT and four weeks after FMT. The effects of FMT on gut microbiota diversity and microbiota structure of IBS patients were analyzed respectively from the level of phylum, family and genus, and linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was further used to screen the different bacteria. Paired t test and paired rank sum test were used for statistical analysis. Results:Twelve weeks after FMT, the scores of the six dimensions of IBS-QOL including dysthymia, behavioral disorder, auto imagery, health concerns, eating avoidance, and relationship expansion were all lower than those before FMT (43.750, 22.656 to 56.250 vs. 48.438, 32.031 to 60.938; 37.500, 18.750 to 56.250 vs. 46.429, 21.429 to 62.500; 31.250, 14.063 to 42.188 vs. 31.250, 18.750 to 50.000; 41.667, 27.083 to 56.250 vs. 50.000, 41.667 to 66.667; 54.167, 43.750 to 72.917 vs. 66.667, 58.333 to 83.333; 8.333, 0.000 to 33.333 vs. 16.667, 8.333 to 33.333, respectively), and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=-2.157, -3.429, -2.274, -3.197, -3.042 and -2.329, all P<0.05). Twelve weeks after FMT, the scores of the two dimensions of IBS-QOL including behavioral disorder and relationship expansion were both lower than those of four weeks after FMT (37.500, 18.750 to 56.250 vs. 39.286, 19.643 to 62.500 and 8.333, 0.000 to 33.333 vs. 16.670, 2.083 to 41.667, respectively), and the differences were statistically significant ( Z=-1.998 and -2.110, both P<0.05). Four and 12 weeks after FMT, the scores of IBS-SSS and GSRS were both lower than those before FMT ((190.32±106.51), (201.43±102.48) vs. (245.93±86.10) and 5.50, 4.00 to 9.00 and 5.50, 4.00 to 8.75 vs. 7.00, 6.00 to 9.75), and the differences were statistically significant ( t=4.402 and 3.848, Z=-3.081 and -3.609; all P<0.01). No serious adverse reactions occurred in the patients after FMT. At the phylum level, after FMT the abundance of Verrucomicrobia in the feces of IBS patients was richer than that before FMT (6.74% vs. 0.37%); at the family level, after FMT the abundance of Verrucomicrobiaceae in the feces of IBS patients was richer than that before FMT (6.74% vs. 0.37%); at the genus level, after FMT the abundance of Akkermansia was richer than that before FMT (6.74% vs. 0.37%); and the differences were statistically significant (all Z=-2.589, all P=0.010). The results of LEfSe method indicated that four weeks after FMT the abundance of Akkermansia in the gut microbiota of IBS patients was richer than that before FMT (6.74% vs. 0.37%), and the difference was statistically significant (linear discriminant analysis value=4.5, P=0.049). Conclusions:FMT is safe and effective in the treatment of IBS. The mechanism may be through upregulating the diversity of gut microbiota and changing the structure of gut microbiota of IBS patients.