Study of Fecalibacteria prausntzii in Egyptian patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Introduction
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterised by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. There aetiopathogenesis has not yet been fully elucidated. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii is one of the most abundant in human gut, and it is found in about 5% of the gut microbiota.

Aim
To study the role of F. prausnitzii in Egyptian patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD) and to assess its relationship with the disease activity.

Material and methods
This study includes 80 patients divided as follows: group I: 30 patients with UC; group II: 30 patients with CD; and group III: 20 healthy patients as control. DNA execration was performed using a faecal extraction kit and quantitative SYBR green real time PCR to identify the core of F. prausnitzii.

Results
In group 1 of UC patients, the level of bacteria was reduced by a mean of 1.68E-01, and in the control group by a mean of 2.72E-01 (p2 = 0.004, significant). Regarding F. prausnitzii in UC patients according to Mayo score, in severe patients the level of bacteria was reduced significantly by a median of 4.80E-02. Regarding F. prausnitzii in group 2 of CD, the level of bacteria was significantly reduced by mean of 1.70E-01, and in the control group by a mean of 2.72E-01 (p3 = 0.037, significant).

Conclusions
There was a significant difference between CD and UC patients and the control group in F. prausnitzii. There was a significant reduction in the level of F. prausnitzii in severe UC cases.