Sequential Changes in the Host Gut Microbiota During Infection With the Intestinal Parasitic Nematode Strongyloides venezuelensis

• Published in: Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology Vol. 9; p. 217
• Main Authors: Afrin, Tanzila, Murase, Kazunori, Kounosu, Asuka, Hunt, Vicky L, Bligh, Mark, Maeda, Yasunobu, Hino, Akina, Maruyama, Haruhiko, Tsai, Isheng J, Kikuchi, Taisei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 25-06-2019
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Biodiversity; Candidatus Arthromitus; Cellular and Infection Microbiology; Disease Models, Animal; Feces - microbiology; Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology; Host Microbial Interactions - immunology; Host Microbial Interactions - physiology; Host-Parasite Interactions - immunology; Host-Parasite Interactions - physiology; host–parasite interaction; immune reaction; Intestines - microbiology; Intestines - parasitology; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; microbiome; Nematoda; Parasites; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Strongyloides; Strongyloides - pathogenicity; Strongyloides - physiology; Strongyloidiasis - microbiology; Strongyloidiasis - parasitology; immune reaction; host–parasite interaction; Strongyloides; Candidatus Arthromitus; microbiome
• ISSN: 2235-2988; 2235-2988
• DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00217

Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are medically important parasites that infect 1. 5 billion humans globally, causing a substantial disease burden. These parasites infect the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of their host where they co-exist and interact with the host gut bacterial flora, leading to the coevolution of the parasites, microbiota, and host organisms. However, little is known about how these interactions change through time with the progression of infection. Strongyloidiasis is a human parasitic disease caused by the nematode
infecting 30-100 million people. In this study, we used a closely related rodent parasite
and mice as a model of gastrointestinal parasite infection. We conducted a time-course experiment to examine changes in the fecal microbiota from the start of infection to parasite clearance. We found that bacterial taxa in the host intestinal microbiota changed significantly as the infection progressed, with an increase in the genera
and
Arthromitus, and a decrease in
and
. However, the microbiota recovered to the pre-infective state after parasite clearance from the host, suggesting that these perturbations are reversible. Microarray analysis revealed that this microbiota transition is likely to correspond with the host immune response. These findings give us an insight into the dynamics of parasite-microbiota interactions in the host gut during parasite infection.