Wang Ya-Li, Xu Xiao-Qian, Long Yi-Yan, Cheng Yan-Li
Department of Gastroenterology, The First Hospital of Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
Front Microbiol. 2025 Sep 4;16:1617288. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1617288. eCollection 2025.
Constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-C) is a prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Recent studies have found that gut microbiota may contribute to its development. This study aimed to characterize the gut microbiota and associated metabolites in individuals with IBS-C to investigate potential pathogenic mechanisms.
A total of 22 individuals diagnosed with IBS-C and 22 healthy controls were recruited at the First Hospital of Tsinghua University between January and December 2023. Stool samples were collected and subjected to metagenomic and metabolomic analyses to assess microbial composition and metabolic profiles. Bioinformatic analyses were employed to integrate and interpret the data.
Metagenomic sequencing results indicated no significant differences in overall gut microbial diversity between the IBS-C group and healthy individuals ( > 0.05). However, six bacterial species exhibited differential abundance. Notably, the relative abundance of beneficial taxa such as , and was significantly reduced in the IBS-C group ( < 0.05). Metabolomic profiling demonstrated that differential metabolites were primarily enriched in pathways related to 3 short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) metabolism. SCFA levels were significantly downregulated in individuals with IBS-C, and a trend toward increased levels of the pro-inflammatory metabolite leukotriene D5 was observed.
Individuals with IBS-C demonstrate gut microbiota dysbiosis, characterized by reduced abundance of specific probiotic species and altered SCFA metabolism, along with potential low-grade inflammatory activity. These findings offer insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of IBS-C and may inform the development of new therapeutic strategies.
以便秘为主的肠易激综合征（IBS-C）是一种常见的功能性胃肠疾病，其发病机制尚未完全明确。最近的研究发现肠道微生物群可能在其发病过程中起作用。本研究旨在对IBS-C患者的肠道微生物群及其相关代谢产物进行特征分析，以探究潜在的致病机制。
2023年1月至12月期间，在清华大学第一医院招募了22名确诊为IBS-C的患者和22名健康对照者。收集粪便样本并进行宏基因组学和代谢组学分析，以评估微生物组成和代谢谱。采用生物信息学分析方法对数据进行整合和解读。
宏基因组测序结果显示，IBS-C组与健康个体之间的整体肠道微生物多样性无显著差异（>0.05）。然而，有六种细菌的丰度存在差异。值得注意的是，IBS-C组中有益菌属如[具体菌属未给出]、[具体菌属未给出]和[具体菌属未给出]的相对丰度显著降低（<0.05）。代谢组学分析表明，差异代谢产物主要富集在与3种短链脂肪酸（SCFA）代谢相关的途径中。IBS-C患者的SCFA水平显著下调，且促炎代谢产物白三烯D5水平有升高趋势。
IBS-C患者表现出肠道微生物群失调，其特征为特定益生菌种类的丰度降低、SCFA代谢改变以及潜在的低度炎症活动。这些发现为IBS-C的病理生理机制提供了见解，并可能为新治疗策略的开发提供依据。
