title: Cholesterol gallstones and bile host diverse bacterial communities with potential to promote the formation of gallstones.
abstract: The prevalence of cholesterol gallstones has increased in recent years. Bacterial infection correlates with the formation of gallstones. We studied the composition and function of bacterial communities in cholesterol gallstones and bile from 22 cholesterol gallstone patients using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. Altogether fourteen and eight bacterial genera were detected in cholesterol gallstones and bile, respectively. Pseudomonas spp. were the dominant bacteria in both cholesterol gallstones and bile. As judged by diversity indices, hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis, the bacterial communities in gallstones were different from those in bile. The gallstone microbiome was considered more stable than that of bile. The different microbial communities may be partially explained by differences in their habitats. We found that 30% of the culturable strains from cholesterol gallstones secreted β-glucuronidase and phospholipase A2. Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains showed the highest β-glucuronidase activity and produced the highest concentration of phospholipase A2, indicating that Ps. aeruginosa may be a major agent in the formation of cholesterol gallstones.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuhong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: The 452nd Hospital of PLA, Chengdu, Sichuan 610000, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongkang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China.
authors.forename: Peilun
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China.
authors.forename: Baixue
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Chengdu Military General Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan 610083, PR China.
authors.forename: Fuzhou
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Bio-resource and Bio-environment of Ministry of Education, College of Life Sciences, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610064, PR China. Electronic address: qunsun@scu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*; D058448:Biota; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D042882:Gallstones / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054467:Phospholipases A2 / Q000032:analysis; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D002784:Cholesterol; D054467:Phospholipases A2
keywords: Bacterial community; Bile; Cholesterol gallstones; PCR-DGGE; Phospholipase A2; β-Glucuronidase