Characterization of Gut Microbiota in Patients with Active Spreading Vitiligo Based on Whole-Genome Shotgun Sequencing

Abstract

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease with a significant psychological burden and complex pathogenesis. While genetic factors contribute approximately 30% to its development, recent evidence suggests a crucial role of the gut microbiome in autoimmune diseases. This study investigated differences in gut microbiome composition and metabolic pathways between active spreading vitiligo patients and healthy controls using shotgun whole-genome sequencing in a Korean cohort. Taxonomic profiling reveals distinct characteristics in microbial community structure, with vitiligo patients showing an imbalanced proportion dominated by Actinomycetota and Bacteroidota. The vitiligo group exhibited significantly reduced abundance of specific species including Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Faecalibacteriumduncaniae, and Meamonas funiformis, and increased Bifidobacterium bifidum compared to healthy controls. Metabolic pathway analysis identified significant enrichment in O-glycan biosynthesis pathways in vitiligo patients, while healthy controls showed enrichment in riboflavin metabolism and bacterial chemotaxis pathways. These findings provide new insights into the gut-skin axis in vitiligo pathogenesis and suggest potential therapeutic targets through microbiota modulation.

Keywords: autoimmune; dysbiosis; gut microbiome; metabolic pathways; shotgun sequencing; vitiligo.

Figure A1

Demographic matching of vitiligo (VT) and healthy control (HC) groups for comparative analysis.

Figure 1

The α-diversity analysis of gut microbiota in vitiligo (VT) and health control (HC) groups at species level using (A) Shannon’s diversity, (B) Simpson’s diversity. ** p value < 0.01.

Figure 2

The β-diversity analysis of gut microbiome in vitiligo (VT, blue) and health control (HC, red) groups using NMDS plot across multiple microbial domains: (A) Overall microbial community, (B) Bacteria, (C) Fungi, (D) Virus, and (E) Archea. * p value < 0.05, ** p value < 0.01.

Figure 3

The gut microbial composition of all domains at the phylum level between the vitiligo (VT) and healthy control (HC) groups.

Figure 4

The gut microbial abundance of the vitiligo (VT) and healthy control (HC) groups at the genus level. * p value < 0.05, ** p value < 0.01.

Figure 5

The most significantly enriched genus between the vitiligo (VT, blue) and healthy control (HC, red) groups across multiple microbial domains: (A) Overall microbial community, (B) Bacteria, (C) Fungi, (D) Virus, and (E) Archaea. The color scale represents the log-transformed mean p value, indicating the statistical significance of each pathway and the lower p values are indicated in darker color gradient.

Figure 6

The gut microbial abundance of the vitiligo (VT) and healthy control (HC) groups at the species level. * p value < 0.05.

Figure 7

The most significantly enriched species between the vitiligo (VT, blue) and healthy control (HC, red) groups across multiple microbial domains: (A) Overall microbial community, (B) Bacteria, (C) Fungi, (D) Virus, and (E) Archaea. The color scale represents the log-transformed mean p value, indicating the statistical significance of each pathway and the lower p values are indicated in darker color gradient.

Figure 8

The pathway analysis of the vitiligo (VT, blue) and health control (HC, red) groups. The color scale represents the log-transformed mean p value, indicating the statistical significance of each pathway and the lower p values are indicated in darker color gradient.