Blastocystis and Clostridioides Difficile in IBD Patients

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Blastocystis and Clostridioides Difficile in IBD Patients 32 6 Blastocystis and Clostridioides difficile in IBD Patients ORIGINAL ARTICLE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT Azimirad et al. Blastocystis and Clostridioides difficile: Evidence for a Synergistic Role in Colonization Among IBD Patients with Emphasis on Ulcerative Colitis Masoumeh Azimirad1 , Sara Mohammad Ali Gol2 , Ehsan Javanmard1 , Hamed Mirjalali1 , Abbas Yadegar1 , Hamid Asadzadeh Aghdaei3 , Shabnam Shahrokh4 , Hedieh Balaii4 , Amir Sadeghi4 , Mohammad Reza Zali4 1Foodborne and Waterborne Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2Behbood Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3Basic and Molecular Epidemiology of Gastrointestinal Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases Research Center, Research Institute for Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Cite this article as: Azimirad M, Mohammad Ali Gol S, Javanmard E, et al. Blastocystis and clostridioides difficile: Evidence for a synergistic role in colonization among IBD patients with emphasis on ulcerative colitis. Turk J Gastroenterol. 2021; 32(6): 500-507. ABSTRACT Background: Regarding the controversial role of Blastocystis in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients, it seems that this protozoan may lead to an overgrowth of some non-beneficial bacteria. The current study aimed to investigate the co-existence of Blastocystis and Clostridioides difficile in IBD patients. Methods: Stool samples of 102 IBD patients were collected and cultivated for C. difficile and Blastocystis. DNA extraction was performed on positive samples and C. difficile and Blastocystis were toxinotyped and subtyped, respectively. Fisher’s exact test and logistic regres- sion were employed to calculate the correlation between the existence of Blastocystis and its subtypes (ST) with C. difficile and its type of toxins. Also, the co-existence of Blastocystis and C. difficile with the frequency of defecations was evaluated. Results: Blastocystis and C. difficile were observed in 17 (16.7%) and 26 (25.5%) of stool samples, respectively. From 26 C. difficile- positive isolates, 24 (92.3%) and 2 (7.7%) were tcdA+/B+ and tcdA+/B-, respectively. Also, 10 (58.8%) and 7 (41.2%) were Blastocystis ST1 and ST3, respectively. Statistically significant correlations between co-existence of Blastocystis and C. difficile and co-existence of these microorganisms and frequency of defecation (P < .035) were seen. There was no statistically significant correlation between subtypes of Blastocystis and colonization of C. difficile or its toxinotypes. Conclusion: The co-existence of Blastocystis and C. difficile in IBD patients was observed in the current study. Moreover, it can be pro- posed that these microorganisms may have synergistic effects on their colonization in the gastrointestinal tract. Keywords: Blastocystis, Clostridioides difficile, co-existence, inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis INTRODUCTION discussed to be important in the deterioration of the clin- Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is a chronic multi- ical symptoms in these patients.7,8,9,10 factorial disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that its main causative agent has not yet been specified. Crohn’s Blastocystis is a eukaryotic intestinal parasite that is disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are relaps- mostly reported from a broad range of animals and human ing inflammatory conditions responsible for most IBD subjects.11,12 This parasite is transmitted via either fecal cases.1,2,3 The increased number of IBD patients during contamination of food and water resources or close con- the last 2 decades4 has grouped this disease as the recent tact with animals.12,13,14,15 Many reports have indicated the global trends. According to available data, genetics, envi- low frequency of Blastocystis in IBD patients compared ronmental, diet, and microbial agents have been signified to healthy controls.8,16,17 It was shown that Blastocystis in the occurrence and flaring up of IBD.5,6 However, the is able to alter both the composition and diversity of the role of some eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorgan- gut microbiota. In other words, this parasite decreases isms through dysbiosis of the gut microbiota have been the protective bacteria by changing the composition Corresponding author: Hamed Mirjalali, e-mail: [email protected] and Abbas Yadegar, e-mail: [email protected] Received: August 28, 2020 Accepted: September 8, 2020 Available Online Date: July 30, 2021 © Copyright 2021 by The Turkish Society of Gastroenterology • Available online at turkjgastroenterol.org DOI: 10.5152/tjg.2021.19644 500 Azimirad et al. Blastocystis and Clostridioides difficile in IBD Patients Turk J Gastroenterol 2021; 32(6): 500-507 and increasing the diversity of the microbial commu- and the parasitology laboratories to cultivate and iso- nity in the human gut.18,19 Moreover, it was hypothesized late C. difficile and Blastocystis, respectively. A por- that Blastocystis prefers a specific composition of the tion of stool samples was kept out at -20°C for DNA microbiota to favor its colonization in the intestinal tract; extraction. therefore, in IBD patients who mostly represent dysbiosis, 16 Blastocystis is not able to be colonized in the gut lumen. Cultivation and Isolation of C. difficile All samples were cultivated on cycloserine cefoxitin On the other hand, it was proven that this protist could fructose agar medium (CCFA) (Mast, London, United increase the permeability of the cell tight-junctions Kingdom). Briefly, a portion of samples was homoge- throughout the host intestine via the secretion of pro- nized with 1 mL of 5% yeast extract broth and directly 20,21,22,23 teolytic enzymes such as metalloproteases. It was inoculated onto C. difficile medium supplemented with also suggested that increasing the permeability of the gut 7% horse blood. The same volume of samples was also barrier can lead to the subsequent induction of inflam- treated with 1 mL of methanol for 1-2 min before inocula- 24,25 matory cascades like what is seen in IBD. tion on the CCFA. All the cultivated plates were incubated at 37°C for at least 48-72 h under anaerobic conditions One of the most important outcomes of dysbiosis, partic- (80% N2, 10% CO2, and 10% H2) using anaerobic gen- ularly in IBD patients, is the overgrowth of Clostridioides eration system (Anoxomat-Mart, Microbiology, Holland). 26,27,28 difficile. C. difficile is a spore-forming anaerobic The suspected colonies were characterized based on the bacterium that can cause C. difficile infection (CDI) in IBD colony morphology and Gram staining. patients.26,29,30,31 However, the increasing rate of morbidity and mortality is the most important concern of physicians accounting with IBD patients who suffered from CDI.7 Cultivation of Blastocystis In order to cultivate and purify Blastocystis, approxi- A couple of studies suggested the bilateral effects of mately 200 mg of stool samples was inoculated into Blastocystis and the gut microbiota.18,32,33 However, Dulbecco’s modified egg medium supplemented with the main hypothesis here was the possible correlation 20% fetal bovine serum and penicillin/streptomycin between co-existence of Blastocystis and CDI in IBD (1000-unit penicillin and 4 mg/mL streptomycin). All patients. Moreover, it was worthy of studying whether samples were incubated at 37°C and anaerobic con- Blastocystis alters the gut microbiota composition ditions. The samples were parasitologically examined toward overgrowth of C. difficile, or lack of Blastocystis for growth of the parasite every 48 h for 10 days—the as one indicator of the healthy gut microbiota compo- samples with no growth for Blastocystis after 10 days are sition lead to providing a suitable niche for developing considered as negative. CDI. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the possible co-existence of Blastocystis and CDI in IBD DNA Extraction and Polymerase Chain Reaction patients in Iran. DNA extraction from C. difficile DNA was extracted from pure colonies of C. difficile 34,35 MATERIALS AND METHODS by boiling method as mentioned elsewhere. Briefly, Patients and Fecal Samples a loop full of each suspicious colony was resolved in A total of 102 stool samples were collected from August 500 µL of distilled water and centrifuged for 10 min at 13 2016 to December 2017 from IBD patients who were 000 × g. Then, the supernatant was discarded, the pel- admitted to the IBD clinic. Informed consent was taken lets were mixed with 100 µL of distilled water, and boiled from all participants. All IBD patients were diagnosed in a water bath for 10 min. Finally, the tubes were cen- based on the clinical criteria and confirmed by colonos- trifuged for 10 min at 13 000 × g, and the supernatant copy. The patients were excluded from the study if they containing bacterial DNA was stored at −20°C for further had a previous history of cancer, liver, and autoimmune investigations. diseases. Additionally, the presence of other enteric infections was also considered as exclusion criteria. A DNA extraction for Blastocystis well-trained interviewer filled a questionnaire consisted DNA extraction was carried out for all culture-positive of demographic and clinical data.
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