Bacterial and metabolic phenotypes associated with inadequate response to ursodeoxycholic acid treatment in primary biliary cholangitis
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as first-line treatment. Poor response to UDCA is associated with a higher risk of progressing to cirrhosis, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. UDCA modulates the composition of primary and bacterial-derived bile acids (BAs). We characterized the phenotypic response to UDCA based on BA and bacterial profiles of PBC patients treated with UDCA. Patients from the UK-PBC cohort (n = 419) treated with UDCA for a minimum of 12-months were assessed using the Barcelona dynamic response criteria. BAs from serum, urine, and feces were analyzed using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and fecal bacterial composition measured using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We identified 191 non-responders, 212 responders, and a subgroup of responders with persistently elevated liver biomarkers (n = 16). Responders had higher fecal secondary and tertiary BAs than non-responders and lower urinary bile acid abundances, with the exception of 12-dehydrocholic acid, which was higher in responders. The sub-group of responders with poor liver function showed lower alpha-diversity evenness, lower abundance of fecal secondary and tertiary BAs than the other groups and lower levels of phyla with BA-deconjugation capacity (Actinobacteriota/Actinomycetota, Desulfobacterota, Verrucomicrobiota) compared to responders. UDCA dynamic response was associated with an increased capacity to generate oxo-/epimerized secondary BAs. 12-dehydrocholic acid is a potential biomarker of treatment response. Lower alpha-diversity and lower abundance of bacteria with BA deconjugation capacity might be associated with an incomplete response to treatment in some patients.
Date Issued
2023
Date Acceptance
2023-04-21
Citation
Gut Microbes, 2023, 15 (1), pp.1-19
ISSN
1949-0976
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Group
Start Page
1
End Page
19
Journal / Book Title
Gut Microbes
Volume
15
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent
License URL
Identifier
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2023.2208501
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
2208501
Date Publish Online
2023-05-16