Gut microbiota dynamics in a 1-year follow-up after adult liver transplantation in Northeast China.

Liver transplantation (LTx) is the most effective treatment for end-stage liver diseases. Gut microorganisms influence the host physiology. We aim to profile the dynamics of gut microbiota in the perioperative period and a 1-year follow-up of LTx recipients in Northeast China. A total of 257 fecal samples were longitudinally collected from 85 LTx patients using anal swabs from pre-LTx to 1-year post-LTx. A total of 48 fecal samples from end-stage liver disease patients without LTx served as the control. 16S rRNA sequencing was used to analyze gut microbiota diversity, bacterial genera, phenotype classification, and metabolic pathways. The diversity of gut microbiota decreased significantly after transplantation, accompanied by a profound change in the microbial structure, which is characterized by increased abundance of facultative anaerobic bacteria dominated by g_ and reduced anaerobic bacteria composition. Predicted functional analysis also revealed disturbances in the metabolic pathway of the gut microbiota. After LTx, the diversity of microbiota gradually recovered but to a less preoperative level after 1 year of recovery. Compared with pre-transplantation, the microbiome structure was characterized by an increase in and after 1 year of transplantation. LTx and perioperative treatment triggered gut microbial dysbiosis. The gut microbiota was restructured after LTx to near to but significantly differed from that of pre-LTx.