Gut microbiota dysbiosis worsens the severity of acute pancreatitis in patients and mice
Abstract
Background The gut is implicated in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis (AP) and the infectious complications of AP are commonly associated with enteric bacteria, yet whether gut microbiota dysbiosis participants in AP severity remains largely unknown.Methods We collected clinical information and fecal samples from 165 adult participants, including 41 with mild AP (MAP), 59 with moderately severe AP (MSAP), 30 with severe AP (SAP) and 35 healthy controls (HC). The serum inflammatory cytokines and gut barrier indexes were detected. Male C57BL/6 mice with AP were established and injuries of pancreas were evaluated in antibiotic-treated mice, germ-free mice as well as those transplanted with fecal microbiota. The gut microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Results The structure of gut microbiota was significantly different between AP and HC, and the disturbed microbiota was closely correlated with systematic inflammation and gut barrier dysfunction. Notably, the microbial composition changed further with the worsening of AP and the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Blautia was decreased in SAP compared with MAP and MSAP. The increased capacity for the inferred pathway, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells in AP, highly correlated with the abundance of Escherichia-Shigella. Furthermore, the antibiotic-treated mice and germ-free mice exhibited alleviated pancreatic injury after AP induction and subsequent fecal microbiota transplantation in turn exacerbated the disease.Conclusions This study identifies the gut microbiota as an important mediator during AP and its dysbiosis is associated with AP severity, which suggests its role as potential therapeutic target.
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Multiple studies have identified changes in intestinal microbiota among AP patients and animal models.
“Multiple studies have identified changes in intestinal microbiota among AP patients and animal models (Ammer-Herrmenau et al. 2024; Zhu et al. 2019).”
From Odoribacter laneus protects intestinal barrier by bile acid-FXR axis in acute pancreatitis (2026) · cites this paper as Zhu et al. 2019
Disrupted intestinal microbiota in AP involves elevated pathogens such as Escherichia-Shigella and reduced beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium.
“The disrupted intestinal microbiota in AP involves elevated levels of pathogens like Escherichia–Shigella and reduced levels of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium (Zhu et al. 2019).”
From Odoribacter laneus protects intestinal barrier by bile acid-FXR axis in acute pancreatitis (2026) · cites this paper as Zhu et al. 2019
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Self-citationOdoribacter laneus protects intestinal barrier by bile acid-FXR axis in acute pancreatitis
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“The disrupted intestinal microbiota in AP involves elevated levels of pathogens like Escherichia–Shigella and reduced levels of beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium (Zhu et al. 2019).”
Influential
- Authors
- Zhu, Y., He, C., Li, X., Cai, Y., Hu, J., Liao, Y., Zhao, J., Xia, L., He, W., Liu, L., Luo, C., Shu, X., Cai, Q., Chen, Y., & Lu, N.
- Affiliations
- First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University (CN)
- Emory University (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Gastroenterology
- Published
- 2018-12-05
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 347-358
- ISSN
- 0944-1174 (ISSN-L)
- 1435-5922
- OpenAlex
- W2902304754
- Cited by
- 250
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 46 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 12.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Gastroenterology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (81760120, 81460116)
- Science and Technology Department of Jiangxi Province (20171BBG70084)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Pancreatitis Pathology and Treatment
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine › Gallbladder and Bile Duct Disorders
- Keywords
- acute pancreatitis, gut microbiota, dysbiosis, disease severity, Blautia, Escherichia-Shigella, intestinal barrier dysfunction, systemic inflammation, fecal microbiota transplantation, germ-free mice, antibiotic-treated mice, bacterial invasion of epithelial cells, inflammatory cytokines
- MeSH terms
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, Acute Disease, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Female, Humans, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Middle Aged, Pancreatitis, RNA, Ribosomal, 16S, Severity of Illness Index, Case-Control Studies, Cytokines, Mice, Young Adult, Dysbiosis
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