Lactose malabsorption induces regional differences in intestinal microbiome composition in IBD patients. human microbiome

Alterations in the intestinal microbiome have been reported in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). The carbohydrate lactose is commonly not absorbed in humans due to either disease-related or genetic mechanisms. When not absorbed, lactose transits along the terminal ileum and colon and can thus potentially undergo microbial fermentation. Thus, lactose malabsorption provides an opportunity to study the impact of single nutrient on the composition of the intestinal microbiome in the context of IBD. In this study, we evaluated regional intestinal microbiome composition at the mucosal-luminal interface in patients with either Crohn's Disease or Ulcerative Colitis both with and without lactose malabsorption.