Xie Bing, Dong Chenyang, Zhao Xin, Qu Lianlian, Lv Yongling, Liu Hong, Xu Jiaxin, Yu Zhizhong, Shen Hexiao, Shang You, Zhao Xing, Zhang Jiancheng
Department of Critical Care Medicine, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (Huazhong University of Science and Technology), Ministry of Education, Wuhan, 430030, China.
Crit Care. 2025 Mar 31;29(1):141. doi: 10.1186/s13054-025-05379-7.
16S rRNA sequencing has revealed structural alterations in the gut microbiomes of medical workers, particularly those working in intensive care unit (ICU). This study aims to further compare the taxonomic and functional characteristics of gut microbiomes between ICU staff and non-medical individuals using metagenomic sequencing.
A prospective cross-sectional cohort study was conducted, fecal samples from 39 individuals in each group-ICU staff and non-medical subjects were analyzed using metagenomic sequencing. PERMANOVA (using the adonis function) was employed to analyze the genus-level profiles and assess the impact of individual parameters on the gut microbiome. Multiple databases were utilized to annotate and compare the functional differences in gut microbiomes between the two groups.
We observed that ICU staff exhibited a significant decrease in gut microbiome diversity, characterized by a marked decline in Actinobacteria and a substantial increase in Bacteroides and Bacteroidaceae. CAZy annotation revealed a notable increase in carbohydrate-active enzymes within the ICU staff cohort. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis further indicated an elevated risk of endocrine and metabolic disorders, along with enhanced glycan biosynthesis and metabolism. Additionally, KEGG pathway enrichment analysis highlighted significant enrichment in cancer-related pathways. Analysis using the Virulence Factor Database (VFDB) showed a higher abundance of virulence factors associated with immune modulation, invasion, and antimicrobial activity/competitive advantage among ICU staff. Notably, no discernible difference in the presence of antibiotic resistance genes within the gut microbiomes was observed between the two groups. Importantly, all aforementioned differences demonstrated clear gender disparities.
Our findings indicated that ICU staff exhibited a reduction in gut microbiome diversity which was associated with an increase in virulence factors and carbohydrate-active enzymes, as well as with a heightened susceptibility to endocrine and metabolic diseases and cancers.
16S rRNA测序揭示了医护人员肠道微生物群的结构改变，尤其是在重症监护病房（ICU）工作的人员。本研究旨在使用宏基因组测序进一步比较ICU工作人员和非医务人员肠道微生物群的分类学和功能特征。
进行了一项前瞻性横断面队列研究，对每组39名个体（ICU工作人员和非医务人员）的粪便样本进行宏基因组测序分析。采用PERMANOVA（使用adonis函数）分析属水平的概况，并评估个体参数对肠道微生物群的影响。利用多个数据库注释和比较两组肠道微生物群的功能差异。
我们观察到，ICU工作人员的肠道微生物群多样性显著降低，其特征是放线菌显著减少，拟杆菌和拟杆菌科大量增加。CAZy注释显示，ICU工作人员队列中的碳水化合物活性酶显著增加。京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）分析进一步表明，内分泌和代谢紊乱的风险升高，同时聚糖生物合成和代谢增强。此外，KEGG通路富集分析突出了癌症相关通路的显著富集。使用毒力因子数据库（VFDB）进行的分析表明，ICU工作人员中与免疫调节、侵袭和抗菌活性/竞争优势相关的毒力因子丰度更高。值得注意的是，两组肠道微生物群中抗生素耐药基因的存在没有明显差异。重要的是，上述所有差异都表现出明显的性别差异。
我们的研究结果表明，ICU工作人员的肠道微生物群多样性降低，这与毒力因子和碳水化合物活性酶的增加以及对内分泌和代谢疾病及癌症的易感性增加有关。
