title: Relationship Between Microbiota of the Colonic Mucosa vs Feces and Symptoms, Colonic Transit, and Methane Production in Female Patients With Chronic Constipation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In fecal samples from patients with chronic constipation, the microbiota differs from that of healthy subjects. However, the profiles of fecal microbiota only partially replicate those of the mucosal microbiota. It is not clear whether these differences are caused by variations in diet or colonic transit, or are associated with methane production (measured by breath tests). We compared the colonic mucosal and fecal microbiota in patients with chronic constipation and in healthy subjects to investigate the relationships between microbiota and other parameters.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sigmoid colonic mucosal and fecal microbiota samples were collected from 25 healthy women (controls) and 25 women with chronic constipation and evaluated by 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing (average, 49,186 reads/sample). We assessed associations between microbiota (overall composition and operational taxonomic units) and demographic variables, diet, constipation status, colonic transit, and methane production (measured in breath samples after oral lactulose intake).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fourteen patients with chronic constipation had slow colonic transit. The profile of the colonic mucosal microbiota differed between constipated patients and controls (P < .05). The overall composition of the colonic mucosal microbiota was associated with constipation, independent of colonic transit (P < .05), and discriminated between patients with constipation and controls with 94% accuracy. Genera from Bacteroidetes were more abundant in the colonic mucosal microbiota of patients with constipation. The profile of the fecal microbiota was associated with colonic transit before adjusting for constipation, age, body mass index, and diet; genera from Firmicutes (Faecalibacterium, Lactococcus, and Roseburia) correlated with faster colonic transit. Methane production was associated with the composition of the fecal microbiota, but not with constipation or colonic transit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After adjusting for diet and colonic transit, the profile of the microbiota in the colonic mucosa could discriminate patients with constipation from healthy individuals. The profile of the fecal microbiota was associated with colonic transit and methane production (measured in breath), but not constipation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Gopanandan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parthasarathy
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Xianfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota; Center for Individualized Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research and Trials Unit, Center for Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Helen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: O'Connor
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Department of Pathobiology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
authors.forename: Patricia G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Sciences, Department of Pathobiology, Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
authors.forename: H Rex
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Gaskins
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Electronic address: bharucha.adil@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Adil E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Bharucha
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001944:Breath Tests; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003248:Constipation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D005772:Gastrointestinal Transit; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008697:Methane / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010802:Phylogeny; D021521:Ribotyping
chemical_list: D008697:Methane
keywords: Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Microbiome