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. 2024 Apr 20;24(1):133.
doi: 10.1186/s12866-024-03269-6.

Altered microbiome of serum exosomes in patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis

Qing Zhu  1 , Min-Xian Li  1 , Ming-Chin Yu  1 , Qi-Wen Ma  2 , Ming-Jie Huang  2 , Chun-Wei Lu  3   4 , Chun-Bing Chen  3   4   5 , Wen-Hung Chung  2   3   4   5 , Chih-Jung Chang  6   7
Affiliations

Altered microbiome of serum exosomes in patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis

Qing Zhu et al. BMC Microbiol. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the differences in the microbiota composition of serum exosomes from patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis.

Method: Exosomes were isolated from the serum of cholecystitis patients through centrifugation and identified and characterized using transmission electron microscopy and nano-flow cytometry. Microbiota analysis was performed using 16S rRNA sequencing.

Results: Compared to patients with chronic cholecystitis, those with acute cholecystitis exhibited lower richness and diversity. Beta diversity analysis revealed significant differences in the microbiota composition between patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was significantly higher in exosomes from patients with acute cholecystitis, whereas Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes were significantly more abundant in exosomes from patients with chronic cholecystitis. Furthermore, functional predictions of microbial communities using Tax4Fun analysis revealed significant differences in metabolic pathways such as amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, and membrane transport between the two patient groups.

Conclusions: This study confirmed the differences in the microbiota composition within serum exosomes of patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. Serum exosomes could serve as diagnostic indicators for distinguishing acute and chronic cholecystitis.

Keywords: 16S rRNA sequencing; Cholecystitis; Exosomes; Microbiota composition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The characterization of exosomes from the Acute group and Chronic group. A Observation of electron micrographs of exosomes by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (Bar = 100 nm). B Measurement of exosomes diameter using nanoflow cytometry (nFCM). C Measurement of exosomes concentration using nFCM. D Detection of surface markers CD9 and CD81 expression on exosomes using nFCM, with blank IgG used as a negative control.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Alpha diversity analysis of microbial communities in exosomes of patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. A The rarefaction curve. B Venn diagram showing the distribution of OTUs in the Acute and Chronic groups. C Box plot depicting the number of observed species (Observed_species index). D Abundance-based Coverage Estimator (ACE) used to estimate the number of unobserved species and calculate the estimation of the total species count. E Shannon index reflecting species richness and evenness. F Simpson index measuring species diversity and evenness within the community. **P < 0.01. ns, no significant difference. A: Acute group; B: Chronic group
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Beta diversity analysis of microbial communities in exosomes of patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. A Investigation of β-diversity changes in microbial communities within exosomes using Jaccard_PcoA analysis between the two groups. B Investigation of β-diversity changes in microbial communities within exosomes using Unweighted UniFrac_PcoA analysis between the two groups. C Jaccard distances between samples from the two groups. D Unweighted_UniFrac distances between samples from the two groups. E Anosim analysis of Jaccard dissimilarities. F Anosim analysis of Unweighted_UniFrac dissimilarities. ***P < 0.001
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Relative abundance of top 10 microbial taxa at different classification levels in exosomes of patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. A Phylum level. B Family level. C Genus level. D Species level
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Differential composition of exosome microbiota in patients with acute and chronic cholecystitis. A Bacteria enriched in exosomes of the Acute group (red) and Chronic group (green). B Bar graph comparing the relative abundances of enriched taxa in exosomes of the Acute group (red) and Chronic group (green).
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Tax4Fun functional prediction
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