The Genus Alistipes: Gut Bacteria With Emerging Implications to Inflammation, Cancer, and Mental Health

Abstract

Alistipes is a relatively new genus of bacteria isolated primarily from medical clinical samples, although at a low rate compared to other genus members of the Bacteroidetes phylum, which are highly relevant in dysbiosis and disease. According to the taxonomy database at The National Center for Biotechnology Information, the genus consists of 13 species: Alistipes finegoldii, Alistipes putredinis, Alistipes onderdonkii, Alistipes shahii, Alistipes indistinctus, Alistipes senegalensis, Alistipes timonensis, Alistipes obesi, Alistipes ihumii, Alistipes inops, Alistipes megaguti, Alistipes provencensis, and Alistipes massiliensis. Alistipes communis and A. dispar, and the subspecies A. Onderdonkii subspecies vulgaris (vs. onderdonkii subsp.) are the newest strains featured outside that list. Although typically isolated from the human gut microbiome various species of this genus have been isolated from patients suffering from appendicitis, and abdominal and rectal abscess. It is possible that as Alistipes spp. emerge, their identification in clinical samples may be underrepresented as novel MS-TOF methods may not be fully capable to discriminate distinct species as separate since it will require the upgrading of MS-TOF identification databases. In terms of pathogenicity, there is contrasting evidence indicating that Alistipes may have protective effects against some diseases, including liver fibrosis, colitis, cancer immunotherapy, and cardiovascular disease. In contrast, other studies indicate Alistipes is pathogenic in colorectal cancer and is associated with mental signs of depression. Gut dysbiosis seems to play a role in determining the compositional abundance of Alistipes in the feces (e.g., in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatic encephalopathy, and liver fibrosis). Since Alistipes is a relatively recent sub-branch genus of the Bacteroidetes phylum, and since Bacteroidetes are commonly associated with chronic intestinal inflammation, this narrative review illustrates emerging immunological and mechanistic implications by which Alistipes spp. correlate with human health.

An intact gut microbiome protects genetically predisposed mice against leukemia

“…The gut microbiome has been proposed to affect several diverse diseases, including Crohn's disease, 51 Parkinson's disease, 52,53 and cancer. 54,55 A recent landmark study analyzed whole-genome and whole-transcriptome data from more than 18 000 samples from treatment-naïve patients with cancer for unique microbial signatures.…”

“…Gut dysbiosis seems to be a key factor in determining the compositional abundance of Alistipes in the gut. 52 Alistipes are commensal gram-negative bacteria found within the gut of primarily healthy animals and humans. They are rarely pathogenic 53 and are more commonly reported to have protective effects against diseases, including cancer, colitis, liver fibrosis, and cardiovascular disease.…”

“…They are rarely pathogenic 53 and are more commonly reported to have protective effects against diseases, including cancer, colitis, liver fibrosis, and cardiovascular disease. 52 Whole-metagenomics sequencing of fecal samples from patients at diagnosis of epithelial cancers Figure 7. In the absence of natural infection, pB-ALL development can be triggered by cooperation between a genetic predisposition and microbiome changes.…”

Characteristics of Microbiome in Lung Adenocarcinoma Tissue from Patients in Southwestern China

“…Alistipes, belongs to Bacteroidetes phylum, has contrasting function on human metabolism and disease. It can protect host from diseases like liver brosis and colitis as well as promoting the incidence of colorectal cancer and metal depression [23]. Like Akkermansia, the abundance of Alistipes is higher in T2 group.…”

Gut microbiota-derived 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid mediates the anti-colitis effect of Phellinus gilvus in mice

“…In the current study, we identi ed four genera, namely Clostridium IV, Alistipes, Butyricicoccus, and Lachnospiraceae_incertae_sedis, to be positively associate with colitis alleviation in mice, all of which are known as SCFA-producing bacteria and have been broadly reported as bene cial microbes in colitis management [33,34]. As a genus in the family of Rikenellaceae, Alistipes, a relatively novel genus of bacteria, are highly relevant in dysbiosis and disease because Alistipes contain enzymes that can degrade cellulose, while loss of cellulose changed the microbial metabolome, gut immune response, gene expression in intestinal epithelial cells and the mice had an increased sensitivity to colitis induction [22,35], while the gut dysbiosis plays a role in determination of the compositional Alistipes abundance in the feces and associated with correlate with human health [22]. Previous studies also showed that colitis was associated with increase in Alistipes abundance [36] and A. negoldii could activate the IL-6/STAT3 signaling to promote colitis-associated cancer development in IL-10 −/− mice [37].…”