Gut bacterial and fungal dysbiosis in tuberculosis patientsOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
This study examined both gut bacteria and gut fungi in tuberculosis patients, and how they relate to immune cytokines. Prior work rarely covered the fungal side. Stool was sequenced with 16S rRNA for bacteria and ITS2 for fungi. Serum IFN-gamma and IL-17 were measured by ELISA. The team assessed diversity, the fungal-to-bacterial ratio, trans-kingdom networks, ROC-based diagnostic panels, and microbe-cytokine correlations.
Who was studied?
The cohort was 33 active tuberculosis patients and 20 matched healthy controls at Xinxiang Medical University, China. Samples were taken from 2022 to 2023. This was a human study. All were Han ethnicity, non-smokers, and non-drinkers, without HIV, diabetes, or gastrointestinal disease. All TB patients were sputum-culture positive. Most patients had lung abnormalities on chest x-ray (93.93 percent). Age and body mass index were comparable between the two groups.
What were the most important findings?
TB patients had significantly lower gut bacterial and fungal alpha diversity. Bacteroides and Prevotella were increased, while Blautia and Bifidobacterium were decreased. The fungus Saccharomyces rose (genus 53.67 percent versus 22.26 percent), and Aspergillus fell. The fungal-to-bacterial ratio and trans-kingdom network complexity dropped in TB. A combined panel of six genera (including Bacteroides, Blautia, and Saccharomyces) reached AUC 0.996, better than bacterial or fungal sets alone. Serum IFN-gamma fell and IL-17 rose.
What are the greatest implications of this study?
This shows tuberculosis involves dysbiosis of both gut bacteria and fungi, plus weakened bacterial-fungal interactions. Studying the microbiome as a whole may improve diagnosis. A combined bacterial-fungal genus panel is a promising auxiliary TB biomarker. Several altered microbes correlated with the shift in IFN-gamma and IL-17. The cohort was single-centre and modest, and findings are correlational. Results also diverged from some prior cohorts, likely reflecting regional and disease-factor differences.