What Has Longitudinal ‘Omics’ Studies Taught Us about Irritable Bowel Syndrome? A Systematic Review

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome is a prototypical disorder of the brain–gut–microbiome axis, although the underlying pathogenesis and mechanisms remain incompletely understood. With the recent advances in ‘omics’ technologies, studies have attempted to uncover IBS-specific variations in the host–microbiome profile and function. However, no biomarker has been identified to date. Given the high inter-individual and day-to-day variability of the gut microbiota, and a lack of agreement across the large number of microbiome studies, this review focused on omics studies that had sampling at more than one time point. A systematic literature search was performed using various combinations of the search terms “Irritable Bowel Syndrome” and “Omics” in the Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library up to 1 December 2022. A total of 16 original studies were reviewed. These multi-omics studies have implicated Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Ruminococcus spp., and Bifidobacteria in IBS and treatment response, found altered metabolite profiles in serum, faecal, or urinary samples taken from IBS patients compared to the healthy controls, and revealed enrichment in the immune and inflammation-related pathways. They also demonstrated the possible therapeutic mechanisms of diet interventions, for example, synbiotics and low fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyol (FODMAP) diets on microbial metabolites. However, there was significant heterogeneity among the studies and no uniform characteristics of IBS-related gut microbiota. There is a need to further study these putative mechanisms and also ensure that they can be translated to therapeutic benefits for patients with IBS.

16S rRNA gene sequencing reveals altered gut microbiota in young adults with schizophrenia and prominent negative symptoms

“…Finally, the 16S rRNA sequencing method may not be sensitive enough to detect small microbiota alterations (Ng, Lim, et al., 2023 ), and it also cannot accurately reflect the function of microbial communities. The combination of metagenomics with metabolomics (Ng, Yau, et al., 2023 ), such as lipidomics or proteomics, might further reveal the gut microbiota function and potential mechanisms of action in patients with SCH.…”

Exploring the Mechanistic Interplay between Gut Microbiota and Precocious Puberty: A Narrative Review

“…These studies collectively demonstrate significant alterations in the structure and composition of gut microbiota in girls with precocious puberty, indicating an association between gut microbiota and precocious puberty. However, most studies are based on 16S rDNA or 16S rRNA sequencing techniques, which may not be sufficient to detect small microbiota alterations compared to metagenomics sequencing [ 104 ]. Furthermore, the causal relationship and underlying mechanisms between gut microbiota and precocious puberty require further exploration.…”

The Possible Synergistic Pharmacological Effect of an Oral Berberine (BBR) and Curcumin (CUR) Complementary Therapy Alleviates Symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): Results from a Real-Life, Routine Clinical Practice Settings-Based Study

“…Despite the high global prevalence of 11.2% [ 6 ], the pathophysiology of IBS remains insufficiently elucidated and seems to be multifactorial. However, increased intestinal mucosal permeability [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], visceral hypersensitivity [ 10 , 11 ], dysmotility [ 12 , 13 ], intestinal mucosal immune system activation [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], inflammation, dysfunction of the gut–brain axis, alteration in the gut microbiome [ 17 ], food sensitivity, genetics, and psychological disturbance have been hypothesized as the possible mechanisms involved in IBS [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. There is currently no specific treatment available for IBS, and most of the therapeutic management is supportive, aimed at relieving the individual symptoms.…”