The microbiome in urogenital schistosomiasis and induced bladder pathologies

Abstract

BackgroundHuman schistosomiasis is a highly prevalent neglected tropical disease (NTD) caused by Schistosoma species. Research on the molecular mechanisms influencing the outcomes of bladder infection by Schistosoma haematobium is urgently needed to develop new diagnostics, therapeutics and infection prevention strategies. The objective of the research study was to determine the microbiome features and changes in urine during urogenital schistosomiasis and induced bladder pathologies.MethodologySeventy participants from Eggua, southwestern Nigeria provided morning urine samples and were screened for urogenital schistosomiasis infection and bladder pathologies in a cross-sectional study. Highthroughput NGS sequencing was carried out, targeting the 16S V3 region. Filtered reads were processed and analyzed in a bioinformatics pipeline.Principal findingsThe study participants (36 males and 34 females, between ages 15 and 65) were categorized into four groups according to status of schistosomiasis infection and bladder pathology. Data analytics of the next-generation sequencing reads revealed that Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated and had influence on microbiome structure of both non-infected persons and persons with urogenital schistosomiasis. Furthermore, gender and age influenced taxa abundance independent of infection or bladder pathology. Several taxa distinguished urogenital schistosomiasis induced bladder pathologies from urogenital schistosomiasis infection alone and from healthy persons, including known immune-stimulatory taxa such as Fusobacterium, Sphingobacterium and Enterococcus. Some of these significant taxa, especially Sphingobacterium were projected as markers of infection, while several genera including potentially beneficial taxa such as Trabulsiella and Weissella, were markers of the non-infected. Finally, expected changes in protein functional categories were observed to relate to cellular maintenance and lipid metabolism.ConclusionThe urinary microbiome is a factor to be considered in developing biomarkers, diagnostic tools, and new treatment for urogenital schistosomiasis and induced bladder pathologies.

Metabolite profiling for biomarkers in Schistosoma haematobium infection and associated bladder pathologies

“…Recent studies on the mechanisms of tumour development in schistosomiasis have highlighted the role of estrogen-related molecules from the parasite, as such molecules were found in many urine samples from infected persons in Angola [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Also, it was recently shown that an inflammation-regulatory microbiome could play important roles in the maintenance or development of bladder pathologies during infection [ 11 ].…”

The urinary tract microbiome in older women exhibits host genetics and environmental influences

“…Recently, research has shown that this is not the case and that the urinary tract is in fact, another site with a microbiome, reflective of the microbes inhabiting the bladder and closely associated organs (Wolfe et al, 2012; Siddiqui et al, 2012; Whiteside et al; 2015). This evidence is supported by enhanced quantitative cultures, 16S marker studies and metagenomics, in different populations (e.g Kramer et al, 2018; Adebayo et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2017).…”

Helminths and Cancers From the Evolutionary Perspective

“…However, given the insufficiency of these hypotheses to explain the occurrence of cancer in the smallest part of the parasitized patients, more recent studies explore the auxiliary role of gastric, colorectal, and urogenital microbiomes ( 15 – 19 ).…”

“…In addition, Adebayo and colleagues ( 15 ) studied the urinary microbiome during S. haematobium infection and demonstrated that specific microorganisms are associated with both inflammation and host protection ( 15 ). They noted that Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the microbiome of both non-infected persons and persons with urogenital schistosomiasis.…”

“…Microbiomes have been investigated through metagenomic studies revealing that parasite infections lead to inflammation and disease development. The helminth microbiota interacts with the host potentially inducing such processes ( 15 – 19 ). A research agenda focused on the evolutionary relationships of the microbiota of different helminths and humans will shed light on cancer biology and guide new intervention strategies.…”