Schistosoma mansoni infection is associated with quantitative and qualitative modifications of the mammalian intestinal microbiota. Schistosoma mansoni iinteractions with mammalian intestinal microbiota

In spite of the extensive contribution of intestinal pathology to the pathophysiology of schistosomiasis, little is known of the impact of schistosome infection on the composition of the gut microbiota of its mammalian host. Here, we characterised the fluctuations in the composition of the gut microbial flora of the small and large intestine, as well as the changes in abundance of individual microbial species, of mice experimentally infected with Schistosoma mansoni with the goal of identifying microbial taxa with potential roles in the pathophysiology of infection and disease. Bioinformatic analyses of bacterial 16S rRNA gene data revealed an overall reduction in gut microbial alpha diversity, alongside a significant increase in microbial beta diversity characterised by expanded populations of Akkermansia muciniphila (phylum Verrucomicrobia) and lactobacilli, in the gut microbiota of S. mansoni-infected mice when compared to uninfected control animals. These data support a role of the mammalian gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of hepato-intestinal schistosomiasis and serves as a foundation for the design of mechanistic studies to unravel the complex relationships amongst parasitic helminths, gut microbiota, pathophysiology of infection and host immunity.

尽管肠道病理在血吸虫病（schistosomiasis）的病理生理进程中发挥着重要作用，但目前对于血吸虫感染对哺乳动物宿主肠道微生物群（gut microbiota）组成的影响仍所知有限。本研究针对实验感染曼氏血吸虫（Schistosoma mansoni）的小鼠，对其小肠与大肠的肠道微生物群落组成波动、单个微生物物种的丰度变化进行了系统表征，旨在筛选出可能在感染与疾病病理生理过程中发挥潜在作用的微生物类群。对细菌16S rRNA基因（16S rRNA gene）数据的生物信息学分析显示，与未感染对照组小鼠相比，曼氏血吸虫感染小鼠的肠道微生物群整体α多样性（alpha diversity）显著降低，同时微生物β多样性（beta diversity）显著升高，具体表现为嗜黏蛋白阿克曼菌（Akkermansia muciniphila）与乳杆菌属（lactobacilli）的种群扩增，其中嗜黏蛋白阿克曼菌隶属于疣微菌门（Verrucomicrobia）。本研究数据证实，哺乳动物肠道微生物群可能参与肝肠血吸虫病的发病过程，同时为后续开展机制性研究以阐明寄生性蠕虫、肠道微生物群、感染病理生理与宿主免疫之间的复杂关联奠定了坚实基础。