The characteristics of gut microbiome changes in tuberculosis patients and latent tuberculosis infection in Xinjiang

TL;DR

This study explores gut microbiome differences in active tuberculosis and latent tuberculosis infection among Han people in Xinjiang, China.

Contribution

It identifies unique microbial and metabolic signatures in active TB and LTBI cases in the Han population of Xinjiang.

Findings

TB patients showed lower gut microbiota diversity and enrichment of pro-inflammatory genera.

LTBI individuals had higher abundance of butyrate-producing and immune-modulating genera.

Only five differential metabolic pathways were found between TB and healthy controls, with Clostridium strongly linked to one pathway.

Abstract

In our earlier research, the gut microbiota profiles of Uygur populations in Xinjiang infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) characterized. As the Han and Uygur ethnic groups represent the predominant demographics in Xinjiang, this follow-up study focuses on identifying characteristic gut microbial alterations in Han patients with active tuberculosis (TB) and those with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The findings are expected to support tailored strategies for the regional prevention and control of tuberculosis.

A total of 51 cases of TB, 35 cases of LTBI and 51 healthy controls (HC) were recruited from the Infectious Disease Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Fecal samples were collected and underwent 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

The gut microbiota α diversity was significantly lower in the TB group compared to the LTBI and HC groups, with significant β diversity differences observed among all three groups. At the phylum level, Firmicutes was the most abundant in all groups. The most abundant genera in the TB, LTBI, and HC groups were Phocaeicola, Escherichia, and Bifidobacterium, respectively. Lefse analysis revealed that pro-inflammatory and opportunistic pathogenic genera were enriched in the TB group, whereas butyrate-producing and immune-modulating genera dominated the LTBI group. PICRUSt2 analysis identified only five differential metabolic pathways between the TB and HC groups, among which Clostridium showed the strongest positive correlation with PWY-6876 (R = 0.79, P < 0.01).

This study clarified the diversity, microbial species composition profiles, and metabolic pathways of the gut microbiota in the Han population with different TB states in the Xinjiang region of China. These findings may provide a certain theoretical basis and reference for the precise prevention and control of TB in Xinjiang.

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