Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59260. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059260. Epub 2013 Mar 14.
The human intestinal microbiota is a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of various diseases, such as metabolic syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Yet, knowledge about the role of environmental factors such as smoking (which is known to influence theses aforementioned disease states) on the complex microbial composition is sparse. We aimed to investigate the role of smoking cessation on intestinal microbial composition in 10 healthy smoking subjects undergoing controlled smoking cessation.
During the observational period of 9 weeks repetitive stool samples were collected. Based on abundance of 16S rRNA genes bacterial composition was analysed and compared to 10 control subjects (5 continuing smokers and 5 non-smokers) by means of Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis and high-throughput sequencing.
Profound shifts in the microbial composition after smoking cessation were observed with an increase of Firmicutes and Actinobacteria and a lower proportion of Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria on the phylum level. In addition, after smoking cessation there was an increase in microbial diversity.
These results indicate that smoking is an environmental factor modulating the composition of human gut microbiota. The observed changes after smoking cessation revealed to be similar to the previously reported differences in obese compared to lean humans and mice respectively, suggesting a potential pathogenetic link between weight gain and smoking cessation. In addition they give rise to a potential association of smoking status and the course of IBD.
人类肠道微生物群是各种疾病发病机制的关键因素，例如代谢综合征或炎症性肠病（IBD）。然而，关于环境因素（如吸烟）对复杂微生物组成的影响的知识还很匮乏，吸烟已知会影响上述疾病状态。我们旨在研究在 10 名健康吸烟受试者中，通过控制戒烟来观察吸烟对肠道微生物组成的作用。
在 9 周的观察期内，重复收集粪便样本。通过 16S rRNA 基因的丰度，我们采用末端限制性片段长度多态性分析和高通量测序，将肠道微生物组成与 10 名对照受试者（5 名继续吸烟者和 5 名非吸烟者）进行分析和比较。
在戒烟后，观察到微生物组成发生了深刻的变化，厚壁菌门和放线菌门的丰度增加，拟杆菌门和变形菌门的比例降低。此外，戒烟后微生物多样性增加。
这些结果表明，吸烟是调节人类肠道微生物群组成的环境因素。戒烟后观察到的变化与肥胖人群与瘦人群体之间以及老鼠与瘦人群体之间以前报道的差异相似，提示体重增加和戒烟之间存在潜在的发病机制联系。此外，它们提示了吸烟状况与 IBD 病程之间的潜在关联。
