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Review
. 2016 Dec;36(Pt D):607-612.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2016.11.024. Epub 2016 Nov 12.

The role of the microbiome in kidney stone formation

Mansi Mehta  1 , David S Goldfarb  2 , Lama Nazzal  3
Affiliations
Review

The role of the microbiome in kidney stone formation

Mansi Mehta et al. Int J Surg. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Nephrolithiasis is a complex disease of worldwide prevalence that is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. About 75% of kidney stones are predominantly composed of calcium oxalate and urinary oxalate is considered a crucial risk factor. Microorganisms may have a role in the pathogenesis and prevention of kidney stones and the involvement of the intestinal microbiome in this renal disease has been a recent area of interest. Oxalobacter formigenes is a gram negative bacteria that degrades oxalate in the gut decreasing urinary oxalate excretion. In this review, we examine the data studying the role of Oxalobacter formigenes in kidney stone disease in humans and animals, the effect of antibiotics on its colonization, and the potential role of probiotics and whole microbial communities as therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: Microbiota; Nephrolithiasis; Urolithiasis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Metabolism of oxalate by Oxf [6]. Reproduced with permission.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Changes in the relative abundance of gene expression of oxc, frc, and oxlT during development with pulsed antibiotic treatment [24] (HFD: high fat diet reproduced with permission.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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