The origin of plasma-derived bacterial extracellular vesicles in healthy individuals and patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A pilot study

Emily Jones, Régis Stentz, Andrea Telatin, George M. Savva, Catherine Booth, David Baker, Steven Rudder, Stella C. Knight, Alistair Noble, Simon R. Carding

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17 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

The gastrointestinal tract harbors the gut microbiota, structural alterations of which (dysbiosis) are linked with an increase in gut permeability (“leaky gut”), enabling luminal antigens and bacterial products such as nanosized bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) to access the circulatory system. Blood-derived BEVs contain various cargoes and may be useful biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring of disease status and relapse in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To progress this concept, we developed a rapid, cost-effective protocol to isolate BEV-associated DNA and used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify bacterial origins of the blood microbiome of healthy individuals and patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing successfully identified the origin of plasma-derived BEV DNA. The analysis showed that the blood microbiota richness, diversity, or composition in IBD, healthy control, and protocol control groups were not significantly distinct, highlighting the issue of ‘kit-ome’ contamination in low-biomass studies. Our pilot study provides the basis for undertaking larger studies to determine the potential use of blood microbiota profiling as a diagnostic aid in IBD.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1636
JournalGenes
Volume12
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Oct 2021

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