Study on the gut microbiota associated with long-term withdrawal of Adalimumab in ulcerative colitis paitients.

Adalimumab is an anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) agent used to suppress intestinal inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. However, it is known that suppression of TNF-alpha by Adalimumab cause side effects related to lowered immune system function. Therefore, it is of importance to be able to identify UC patients who can discontinue Adalimumab treatment without relapse for a longer period of time. For this purpose, through sequencing bacterial 16S rRNA amplicons, we examined gut microbiota of two groups of UC patients who relapsed within 12 months after the withdrawal of Adalimumab and those who relapsed after 12 months after the withdrawal of Adalimumab, at two time points: pre and post treatment.