Microbial Diversity and Composition in Six Different Gastrointestinal Sites among Participants Undergoing Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy in Henan, ChinaOriginal 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?
Researchers profiled the microbiota across six gastrointestinal sites, saliva, esophageal swab, cardia biopsy, noncardia biopsy, gastric juice, and feces, in 40 participants undergoing upper GI cancer screening in Linzhou, Henan, China.
How was it studied?
Specimens collected in August 2019 were analyzed by sequencing the V4 region of 16S rRNA genes on an Illumina MiniSeq platform, comparing amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) and community composition across sites and by Helicobacter pylori status.
What did they find?
Observed ASVs declined stepwise from saliva through esophagus, cardia, noncardia, and gastric juice, then rose again in feces. Each site had characteristic genera: Neisseria and Prevotella in saliva, Streptococcus and Haemophilus in the esophagus, Weissella in the cardia, Helicobacter in the noncardia, Pseudomonas in gastric juice, and Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Blautia in feces. H. pylori-positive participants showed lower ASV counts and Shannon diversity in both cardia and noncardia tissue, with a stronger effect in the noncardia stomach, and gastric pH and H. pylori infection had similar additive effects on gastric juice microbiota.
Why it matters
Mapping site-specific microbial signatures along the gastrointestinal tract, and how H. pylori reshapes them, gives baseline data for using microbial biomarkers in early detection of upper GI tract cancer.