Enteric parasitic infection disturbs bacterial structure in Mexican children with autoantibodies for type 1 diabetes and/or celiac disease

Abstract

Background Intestinal bacterial dysbiosis and increased gut permeability are associated with higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes (T1D) or celiac disease (CD). There is a lack of information on parasitism involved in gut disturbance of predisposed children. We evaluated the effect of enteropathogenic parasites ( Cryptosporidium spp., Cyclospora spp. G. lamblia , and Blastocystis spp.) on the bacterial structure of feces from children with autoantibodies for T1D or CD. Participants included 37 children under 18 years of age, from whom stools were analyzed for enteric parasites by qPCR and 22/37 for bacterial profile by sequencing the V3–V4 region of the 16s rRNA gene. Dietary, clinical, and socioeconomic data was recorded. Results Pathogens parasitized 28/37 participants, Cryptosporidium spp. was the most prevalent (62.2%), followed by both Cyclospora cayetanensis and Blastocystis spp (37.8%). There were no dietary differences ( p > 0.05) attributable to parasitism. Co-infected participants with Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora did not differ (p = 0.064) from non-infected participants in bacterial alpha phylogenetic diversity. The same parasites’ co-infection was associated with a decreased abundance of the Ruminococaceae (p = 0.04) and Verrucomicrobioceae families, of the Akkermansia genus (p = 0.009). There was a lower Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio (p = 0.02) in infected than in uninfected participants. Conclusions Cryptosporidium and Cyclospora affected the bacterial structure at family and genus levels, decreasing the ratio between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes in children with auto-antibodies for T1D or CD, which could increase the risk of illness onset.

Intestinal parasites and diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“… Calderon de la Barca et al. [ 35 ] 2020 2016–2018 Region of the Americas Mexico Sonora Stool PCR 37 28 Cryptosporidium spp. , Cyclospora spp.…”

Interplay between Intestinal Bacterial Communities and Unicellular Parasites in a Morbidly Obese Population: A Neglected Trinomial

“…The presence of G. intestinalis in the gut ecosystem has been related to a dysbiotic condition in several studies [ 13 , 14 , 66 , 67 ]. Its presence was related to a significant lower Faecalibacterium spp./ Escherichia spp.…”

“…ratio compared to Blastocystis -positive individuals [ 14 ]; the same low trend was demonstrated with the presence of other pathogenic protozoa, such as Cryptosporidium spp. and Cyclospora cayetanensis [ 67 ]. However, the prevalence of G. intestinalis in the studied population was too low to allow us to perform significant comparisons.…”

Administration of All-Trans Retinoic Acid to Pregnant Sows Alters Gut Bacterial Community of Neonatal Piglets With Different Hoxa1 Genotypes

“…Alteration in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and the relative abundances of microbiota often develop into different kinds of diseases in the host. The increased ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes was reported in obese animals ( Bäckhed et al, 2004 ), and the decreased ratio between Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was associated with a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes or celiac disease ( Murri et al, 2013 ; Calderón de la Barca et al, 2020 ) or autism ( Finegold et al, 2010 ) in children. The combination of significantly decreased ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes; the lower relative abundances of Firmicutes, Lactobacillus , Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 , Staphylococcus , Rothia , and Veillonella ; and the higher relative abundances of Bacteroidetes and Patescibacteria might be some of the important factors to develop in Hoxa1 –/– neonatal piglets undesirable symptoms of bad birth live weight, dyspnea, and death.…”