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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Gastroenterology. 2020 Nov 28;160(2):538–555. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.10.058

Table 2:

Summary of pathophysiologic mechanisms related to gut microbiota in patients with FGIDs (reprint from9)

Study Study
population
Intervention Sample Mechanism
studied
Role of microbiota
Shin et al, 201892 60 IBS-D L gasseri BNR 17 vs pcbo Fecal Transit Transit significantly ↑ during 8 wk with L gasseri BNR17
Tap et al, 201720 110 IBS, 39 HV NA Fecal, mucosal Transit, GBA ↑Transit with Clostridiales vs Prevotella and Bacteroides enterotypes No association between HADS and enterotype
Acosta et al, 201693 24 nonconstipat ed IBS Rifaximin vs pcbo Fecal Transit, permeability, SCFA and bile acid production No significant effects of rifaximin on permeability, bile acids, SCFAs
Rifaximin associated with ↑ascending colon emptying, and colonic transit at 48 h
Dior et al, 201694 15 HV, 15
IBS-C, 16
IBS-D
NA Fecal Fecal bile acids ↓Bacterial deconjugation of bile acids in IBS-D and IBS-C feces vs HV
Le Neve et al, 201695 100 IBS NA Fecal Sensation, transit Response to lactulose challenge associated with rectal sensitivity but not with fecal microbiota or transit
Chumpitazi et al, 201496 12 IBS children LFSFD Fecal Transit, metabolite composition LFSD response associated with ↑abundance of Sporobacter and Subdoligranulum and ↓ Bacteroides, but not with transit
Stool metabolites (L-urobilin, cholate) associated with response and microbiome composition
Jeffery et al, 201297 37 IBS, 20 HV NA Fecal Sensation, transit, GBA Proteobacteria associated with ↑mental component and pain threshold
Actinomycetales associated inversely with depression
Desulfohalobiaceae and Methanobacteriaceae associated with transit
Labus et al, 201798 29 IBS, 23 HV NA Fecal GBA No correlations between anxiety or depression symptom scores and microbial parameters; Clostridia and Bacteroidia correlated with sensory integration regions
Liu et al, 201699 40 IBS, 15 depression, 25 IBS and depression, 20 HV NA Fecal GBA, immune ↑Bacteroidetes and ↓Firmicutes in IBS-D, depression, and IBS-D with depression;
Colonic mucosa inflammation associated with ↑ Bacteroides or Prevotella
Azpiroz et al, 2017100 79 IBS scFOS vs pcbo Fecal GBA, sensation scFOS reduced anxiety scores and increased fecal Bifidobacteria
No significant difference in rectal sensory threshold for scFOS vs pcbo
Le Gall et al, 2011101 10 IBS, 13 UC, 22 HV NA Fecal Fecal metabolites Correlation between gut microbiota profile and metabolite composition
Heitkemper et al, 2018102 93 IBS NA Fecal Permeability Higher stool TFF3 associated with lower permeability and microbial diversity
Christensenellaceae related inversely to stool TFF3
Bednarska et al, 2017103 32 IBS, 15 HV NA Mucosal Immune, permeability Increased permeability to E coli strain HS and S typhimurium in IBS biopsy specimens vs controls
↑Plasma VIP in IBS vs HV
↑Tryptase and mast cells in IBS biopsy specimens vs HV
Valentin et al, 2017104 15 IBS-D SBI Duoden al brushing, fecal Immune, permeability, metabolism Bile acid synthesis, tryptophan metabolism, permeability, and stool microbiome not significantly different with SBI
Changes in β diversity analysis, increased ↑
Proteobacteria Burkholderiales, Firmicutes Catonella, and unclassified genus organisms with SBI in duodenal microbiome
Ko et al, 2013105 53 IBS-D Herbal (GJS), probiotic (Duolac7S; Cell Biotech Co, Ltd, Gimpo, Korea), pcbo Fecal Permeability GJS with DuoLac7 ↑ B lactis, L rhamnosus, L plantarum
No significant difference observed in permeability
Crouzet et al, 20136 3 IBS-C, 2 HV NA Fecal Rectal sensitivity IBS with rectal hypersensitivity have ↓bifidobacteria, ↑Enterobacteriaceae, and ↑H2-using sulfide-producing bacteria vs HV
Shulman et al, 2017106 103 IBS children Fiber vs placebo Fecal GBA, permeability No differences in psychological symptoms, permeability, or microbiome between groups
Compare et al, 2017107 10 IBS-D, 10 HV (ex vivo) LC-DG, postbiotic Mucosal Immune ↑IL1α, IL6, and IL8 messenger RNA, TLR-4 protein expression with ↓IL10 messenger RNA levels in PI-IBS-D vs HV
LC-DG and PB ↓messenger RNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines and TLR-4 but ↑IL10 after LPS stimulation
Hustoft et al, 2017108 20 IBS-D or IBS-M Low FODMAP diet, FOS vs pcbo Fecal Immune, SCFA ↓IL6 and IL8, fecal bacteria
(Actinobacteria, Bifidobacterium, Faecalibact erium prausnitzii), total SCFAs, and n-butyric acid on LFD
FOS supplement then ↑levels of these bacteria, but cytokines and SCFAs unchanged
McIntosh et al, 2017109 37 IBS Low vs high FODMAP Fecal Urinary metabolites Significant correlations between relative bacterial abundance and symptoms and urinary metabolites (histamine, p-hydroxybenzoic acid)
Sundin et al, 2015110 11 PI-IBS, 10 HV (ex vivo) NA Mucosal Immune IL1β ↑ in PI-IBS vs HV after stimulation with Subdoligranulum variabile; IL10 ↓ in HV vs PI-IBS after stimulation with Eubacterium limosum
Sundin et al, 2015111 13 PI-IBS, 19 IBS, 16 HV NA Fecal, mucosal Immune, GBA Naive CD8+ CD45RA+ intraepithelial lymphocytes and lamina propria lymphocytes correlated negatively with mucosal microbial diversity
Fecal microbial diversity correlated negatively with HADS
Pinto-Sanchez et al, 2017112 44 IBS BL vs pcbo Fecal GBA, immune, urinary metabolites, neurotransmitter s, and neurotrophins BL ↓depression and was associated with ↓limbic reactivity
No difference in fecal microbiota, serum markers of inflammation, neurotrophins, and neurotransmitters
Reduced urine methylamines and aromatic amino acid metabolites with BL
Parthasarathy et al,217 2017 25 CC, 25 HV NA Fecal Transit Reproducibility of fecal microbiota lower in normal transit vs slow-transit constipation
Parthasarathy et al, 2016113 25 CC, 25 HV NA Fecal, mucosal Transit Fecal microbiota profile associated with colonic transit; genera from Firmicutes correlated with faster colonic transit
Tian et al, 2017114 60 STC FMT NA Transit FMT associated with faster transit vs control treatment

BL, Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001; cc, chronic constipation; FODMAP, fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols; GBA, gut–brain axis; HADS, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; HV, healthy volunteer; IBS-M, irritable bowel syndrome mixed subtype; LC-DG, Lactobacillus casei DG; LFSD, low fermentable substrate diet; LPS, lipopolysaccharide; pcbo, placebo; PI-IBS, postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome; SBI, serum-derived bovine immunoglobulin/protein isolate; scFOS, short-chain fructooligosaccharide; TFF3, urine trefoil factor 3.