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. 2013 Jul;7(7):1256-61.
doi: 10.1038/ismej.2013.80. Epub 2013 May 16.

Dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel diseases: the oxygen hypothesis

Lionel Rigottier-Gois  1
Affiliations

Dysbiosis in inflammatory bowel diseases: the oxygen hypothesis

Lionel Rigottier-Gois. ISME J. 2013 Jul.

Abstract

The healthy intestine is characterized by a low level of oxygen and by the presence of large bacterial communities of obligate anaerobes. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota has been reported in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), but the mechanisms causing this imbalance remain unknown. Observations have included a decrease in obligate anaerobes of the phylum Firmicutes and an increase in facultative anaerobes, including members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The shift of bacterial communities from obligate to facultative anaerobes strongly suggests a disruption in anaerobiosis and points to a role for oxygen in intestinal dysbiosis. Proposals to evaluate this hypothesis of a role for oxygen in IBD dysbiosis are provided. If this hypothesis is confirmed, decreasing oxygen in the intestine could open novel means to rebalance the microbiota and could provide novel preventative or therapeutic strategies for IBD patients in whom current treatments are ineffective.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The imbalance of the gut microbiota, or dysbiosis, in IBDs: a role for oxygen? Dysbiosis is observed in patients suffering from IBDs. Repeated observations indicate a decrease in obligate anaerobes (F. prausnitzii), an increase of facultative anaerobes (Enterobacteriaceae) and even the appearance of aerobes. Superimposed with the normal anaerobic gut physiology of the distal intestine, these observations support the hypothesis of a shift in bacterial communities caused by an increase of oxygen that changes the Eh in the gastrointestinal tract.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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