16S rRNA analysis of aganglionic and ganglionic colonic segments of Hirschsprung's disease patients

Hirschsprung’s disease (HD) is a congenital intestinal motility disorder defined by the absence of enteric ganglia cells (aganglionose) in the distal colon and characterized by bowel obstruction and the formation of a megacolon. Although, routinely treated by surgical removal of aganglionic segments the most life-threatening complication is the development of HD-associated enterocolitis with still unknown pathogenesis.Due to the lack of enteric ganglia cells HD patients show extramural innervation of acetylcholine-secreting (cholinergic) nerve fibers. Cholinergic signals have been reported to control excessive inflammatory immune responses, however, the impact on the colonic microbiom and enterocolitis manifestation in HD patients is unknown.We grouped HD patients according to their degree of mucosal cholinergic innervation in the distal colon into fiber-high and fiber-low patients. To evaluate if the presence of cholinergic fibers impact bacterial translocation/compsition we performed 16S rDNA analysis on aganglionic fiber-low and fiber-high as well as ganglionic colon descendent segments.These data will clarify if the presence of cholinergic neurons affect the microbial community and might protect from the manifestation of detrimental HD-associated enterocolitis.