Microbial Butyrate Synthesis Indicates Therapeutic Efficacy of Azathioprine in IBD Patients



Effenberger, M, Reider, S, Waschina, S, Bronowski, C ORCID: 0000-0001-8089-4021, Enrich, B, Adolph, TE, Koch, R, Moschen, AR, Rosenstiel, P, Aden, K
et al (show 1 more authors) (2021) Microbial Butyrate Synthesis Indicates Therapeutic Efficacy of Azathioprine in IBD Patients. JOURNAL OF CROHNS & COLITIS, 15 (1). pp. 88-98.

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Abstract

<h4>Background and aims</h4>The microbial ecosystem seems to be an important player for therapeutic intervenption in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD]. We assessed longitudinal microbiome changes in IBD patients undergoing therapy with either azathioprine [AZA] or anti-tumour necrosis factor [anti-TNF] antibodies. We predicted the metabolic microbial community exchange and linked it to clinical outcome.<h4>Methods</h4>Faecal and blood samples were collected from 65 IBD patients at baseline and after 12 and 30 weeks on therapy. Clinical remission was defined as Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] < 150 in Crohn´s disease [CD], partial Mayo score <2 in ulcerative colitis [UC], and faecal calprotectin values <150 µg/g and C-reactive protein <5 mg/dl. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was performed. To predict microbial community metabolic processes, we constructed multispecies genome-scale metabolic network models.<h4>Results</h4>Paired Bray-Curtis distance between baseline and follow-up time points was significantly different for UC patients treated with anti-TNF antibodies. Longitudinal changes in taxa composition at phylum level showed a significant decrease of Proteobacteria and an increase of Bacteroidetes in CD patients responding to both therapies. At family level, Lactobacilli were associated with persistent disease and Bacteroides abundance with remission in CD. In-silico simulations of microbial metabolite exchange predicted a 1.7-fold higher butyrate production capacity of patients in remission compared with patients without remission [p = 0.041]. In this model, the difference in butyrate production between patients in remission and patients without remission was most pronounced in the CD group treated with AZA [p = 0.008].<h4>Conclusions</h4>In-silico simulation identifies microbial butyrate synthesis predictive of therapeutic efficacy in IBD.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Azathioprine, IBD, microbiota
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 16 Jun 2023 07:22
Last Modified: 16 Jun 2023 07:22
DOI: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjaa152
Open Access URL: https://journals.lww.com/hepcomm/Fulltext/2023/070...
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171031