Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of intratumoral microorganisms. However, the role of intratumoral microbes in the development of ovarian cancer and their interaction with the tumor microenvironment are largely unknown.
The burgeoning field of oncobiome research declared that members of the intratumoral microbiome besides
Helicobacter pylori
existed in tumor tissues and participated in the occurrence and development of gastric cancer, and the methylation of host DNA may be a potential target of microbes and their metabolites. Current research focuses mostly on species composition, but the functional genes of the members of the microbiota are also key to their interaction with the host.
Our study indicated that systematic inflammation and metabolites might be a pathway linking the gut microbiome with insomnia. These findings provide new insights and a better understanding of gut microbiota's role in insomnia as well as potential novel microbiome-related etiologies for insomnia.
Background
Neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiotherapy (nCCRT) is a standard treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). The gut microbiome may be reshaped by radiotherapy through its effects on microbial composition, mucosal immunity, and the systemic immune system. We sought to clarify dynamic, longitudinal changes in the gut microbiome and blood immunomodulators throughout nCCRT and to explore the relationship of such changes with outcomes after nCCRT
Methods
A total of 39 LARC patients were recruited in this study. Fecal samples and peripheral blood samples were collected from 39 LARC patients before, during nCCRT (at week 3), and after nCCRT (at week 5). The gut microbiota and the community structure were analyzed based on the 16S rRNA sequencing of the V3-V4 region. Levels of blood immunomodulatory proteins were measured with a Millipore HCKPMAG-11K kit and Luminex 200 platform (Luminex, USA).
Results
Cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis revealed that the gut microbiome profile and enterotype exhibited characteristic variations in patients with good response (TRG 0–1) vs poor response (TRG 2–3) to nCCRT. Sparse partial least squares regression and canonical correspondence analyses showed multivariate associations between specific microbial taxa, host immunomodulatory proteins, immune cells, and outcomes after nCCRT. An integrated model consisting of baseline Clostridium sensu stricto 1 levels, fold changes in Intestinimonas, blood levels of the herpes virus entry mediator (HVEM/CD270), and lymphocyte counts could predict good vs poor outcome after nCCRT (area under the receiver-operating characteristics curve [1] = 0.821; area under the precision-recall curve [AUPR] = 0.911).
Conclusions
Our results showed that longitudinal variations in specific gut taxa, associated host immune cells and immunomodulatory proteins before and during nCCRT could be useful for early predictions of the efficacy of nCCRT, which could guide the choice of individualized treatment for patients with LARC.
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