Developments in high-throughput microbial genomic sequencing and other systems biology techniques have given novel insight into the potential contribution of the gut microbiota to health and disease. ...As a result, an increasing number of diseases have been characterised by distinctive changes in the composition and functionality of the gut microbiota; however, whether such changes are cause, consequence, or incidental to the disease in question remains largely uncertain. Restoration of the gut microbiota to a premorbid state is a key novel therapeutic approach of interest, and faecal microbiota transplantation—the transfer of prescreened stool from healthy donors into the gastrointestinal tract of patients—is gaining increasing importance in both the clinical and research settings. At present, faecal microbiota transplantation is only recommended in the treatment of recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection, although a large number of trials are ongoing worldwide exploring other potential therapeutic indications.
Clostridioides difficile infection occurs when the bacterium produces toxin that causes diarrhea and inflammation of the colon. These guidelines indicate the preferred approach to the management of ...adults with C. difficile infection and represent the official practice recommendations of the American College of Gastroenterology. The scientific evidence for these guidelines was evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation process. In instances where the evidence was not appropriate for Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation but there was consensus of significant clinical merit, key concept statements were developed using expert consensus. These guidelines are meant to be broadly applicable and should be viewed as the preferred, but not the only, approach to clinical scenarios.
A subset of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) present with, or progress to, moderate to severe disease activity. These patients are at high risk for colectomy, hospitalization, corticosteroid ...dependence, and serious infections. The risk of life-threatening complications and emergency colectomy is particularly high among those patients hospitalized with acute severe ulcerative colitis. Optimal management of outpatients or inpatients with moderate to severe UC often requires the use of immunomodulator and/or biologic therapies, including thiopurines, methotrexate, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, TNF-α antagonists, vedolizumab, tofacitnib, or ustekinumab, either as monotherapy or in combination (with immunomodulators), to mitigate these risks. Decisions about optimal drug therapy in moderate to severe UC are complex, with limited guidance on comparative efficacy and safety of different treatments, leading to considerable practice variability. Therefore, the American Gastroenterological Association prioritized development of clinical guidelines on this topic. To inform the clinical guidelines, this technical review was completed in accordance with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework. Focused questions in adult outpatients with moderate to severe UC included: (1) overall and comparative efficacy of different medications for induction and maintenance of remission in patients with or without prior exposure to TNF-α antagonists, (2) comparative efficacy and safety of biologic monotherapy vs combination therapy with immunomodulators, (3) comparative efficacy of top-down (upfront use of biologics and/or immunomodulator therapy) vs step-up therapy (acceleration to biologic and/or immunomodulator therapy only after failure of 5-aminosalicylates, and (4) role of continuing vs stopping 5-aminosalicylates in patients being treated with immunomodulator and/or biologic therapy for moderate to severe UC. Focused questions in adults hospitalized with acute severe ulcerative colitis included: (5) overall and comparative efficacy of pharmacologic interventions for inpatients refractory to corticosteroids, in reducing risk of colectomy, (6) optimal dosing regimens for intravenous corticosteroids and infliximab in these patients, and (7) role of adjunctive antibiotics in the absence of confirmed infections.
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from healthy donor to patient is a treatment for microbiome-associated diseases. Although the success of FMT requires donor bacteria to engraft in the patient's ...gut, the forces governing engraftment in humans are unknown. Here we use an ongoing clinical experiment, the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, to uncover the rules of engraftment in humans. We built a statistical model that predicts which bacterial species will engraft in a given host, and developed Strain Finder, a method to infer strain genotypes and track them over time. We find that engraftment can be predicted largely from the abundance and phylogeny of bacteria in the donor and the pre-FMT patient. Furthermore, donor strains within a species engraft in an all-or-nothing manner and previously undetected strains frequently colonize patients receiving FMT. We validated these findings for metabolic syndrome, suggesting that the same principles of engraftment extend to other indications.
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•Gut microbiota of 18 C. difficile patients profiled during fecal transplantation•Developed Strain Finder, a method to infer strain genotypes and track them over time•Bacterial abundance and phylogeny are the strongest determinants of engraftment•Unlike bacterial species, closely related strains engraft in an all-or-nothing pattern
Smillie et al. profile the gut microbiota of recurrent Clostridium difficile patients during fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and uncover the principles of microbiota engraftment in humans. They validate their findings across several FMT datasets and in another disease context, metabolic syndrome.
Although faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has a well-established role in the treatment of recurrent
infection (CDI), its widespread dissemination is limited by several obstacles, including ...lack of dedicated centres, difficulties with donor recruitment and complexities related to regulation and safety monitoring. Given the considerable burden of CDI on global healthcare systems, FMT should be widely available to most centres.Stool banks may guarantee reliable, timely and equitable access to FMT for patients and a traceable workflow that ensures safety and quality of procedures. In this consensus project, FMT experts from Europe, North America and Australia gathered and released statements on the following issues related to the stool banking: general principles, objectives and organisation of the stool bank; selection and screening of donors; collection, preparation and storage of faeces; services and clients; registries, monitoring of outcomes and ethical issues; and the evolving role of FMT in clinical practice,Consensus on each statement was achieved through a Delphi process and then in a plenary face-to-face meeting. For each key issue, the best available evidence was assessed, with the aim of providing guidance for the development of stool banks in order to promote accessibility to FMT in clinical practice.
The microbiota in the lumen of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) is characterized by reduced diversity, particularly Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes. It is unknown whether the introduction of the ...intestinal microbiota from healthy individuals could correct this dysbiosis and reverse mucosal inflammation. We investigated the response to fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) from healthy individuals to subjects with active CD.
We performed a prospective open-label study (uncontrolled) of FMT from healthy donors to subjects with active CD. A single FMT was performed by colonoscopy. Recipients' microbial diversity, mucosal T-cell phenotypes, and clinical and inflammatory parameters were measured over 12 weeks, and safety over 26 weeks.
Nineteen subjects were treated with FMT and completed the study follow-up. Fifty-eight percent (11/19) demonstrated a clinical response (Harvey-Bradshaw Index decrease >3) following FMT. Fifteen subjects had sufficient pre/postfecal samples for analysis. A significant increase in microbial diversity occurred after FMT (P = 0.02). This was greater in clinical responders than nonresponders. Patients who experienced a clinical response demonstrated a significant shift in fecal microbial composition toward their donor's profile as assessed by the Bray-Curtis index at 4 weeks (P = 0.003). An increase in regulatory T cells (CD4CD25CD127lo) was also noted in recipients' lamina propria following FMT. No serious adverse events were noted over the 26-week study period.
In this open-label study, FMT led to an expansion in microbial bacterial diversity in patients with active CD. FMT was overall safe, although the clinical response was variable. Determining donor microbial factors that influence clinical response is needed before randomized clinical trials of FMT in CD.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an exponential increase in SARS-CoV-2 infections and associated deaths, and represents a significant challenge to healthcare professionals and facilities. Individual ...countries have taken several prevention and containment actions to control the spread of infection, including measures to guarantee safety of both healthcare professionals and patients who are at increased risk of infection from COVID-19. Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has a well-established role in the treatment of
infection. In the time of the pandemic, FMT centres and stool banks are required to adopt a workflow that continues to ensure reliable patient access to FMT while maintaining safety and quality of procedures. In this position paper, based on the best available evidence, worldwide FMT experts provide guidance on issues relating to the impact of COVID-19 on FMT, including patient selection, donor recruitment and selection, stool manufacturing, FMT procedures, patient follow-up and research activities.
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising therapeutic modality for the treatment and prevention of metabolic disease. We previously conducted a double-blind, randomized, ...placebo-controlled pilot trial of FMT in obese metabolically healthy patients in which we found that FMT enhanced gut bacterial bile acid metabolism and delayed the development of impaired glucose tolerance relative to the placebo control group. Therefore, we conducted a secondary analysis of fecal samples collected from these patients to assess the potential gut microbial species contributing to the effect of FMT to improve metabolic health and increase gut bacterial bile acid metabolism. Fecal samples collected at baseline and after 4 weeks of FMT or placebo treatment underwent shotgun metagenomic analysis. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to profile fecal bile acids. FMT-enriched bacteria that have been implicated in gut bile acid metabolism included
and
. To identify candidate bacteria involved in gut microbial bile acid metabolism, we assessed correlations between bacterial species abundance and bile acid profile, with a focus on bile acid products of gut bacterial metabolism.
and
were positively correlated with unconjugated bile acids.
,
, and
were positively correlated with secondary bile acids. Together, these data identify several candidate bacteria that may contribute to the metabolic benefits of FMT and gut bacterial bile acid metabolism that requires further functional validation.
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