Project description:Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the colon, associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis. While global studies have explored this link, region-specific microbial profiles remain underreported. This pilot study aimed to characterize and compare, for the first time, the gut microbiota of Lebanese UC patients and healthy controls using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V3–V4 region). Fecal samples from 11 UC patients and 11 healthy individuals were analyzed. Alpha and beta diversity metrics were computed, and gut microbial composition was assessed across taxonomic levels. Statistical comparisons used Mann-Whitney and Fisher’s exact tests. UC patients showed significantly reduced microbial diversity based on Faith’s Phylogenetic Diversity and Shannon index (p < 0.05), though evenness was unaffected. Beta diversity also revealed significant group-level dissimilarities (p < 0.05). At the phylum level, Bacteroidota was elevated in UC, while Bacillota and Actinomycetota were reduced. Genera such as Ruminococcus, Fusicatenibacter, Mediterraneibacter, Eubacterium, and Coprococcus were depleted in UC. Faecalibacterium, commonly reduced in UC, showed no significant difference. This first analysis of gut microbiota in Lebanese UC patients reveals a distinct microbial signature that partially diverges from global trends, supporting the need for region-specific microbiome studies and personalized microbiota-targeted therapies.
2025-11-27 | GSE303706 | GEO
Project description:Studies of microbial diversity on human fecal
Project description:Morphine causes microbial dysbiosis. In this study we focused on restoration of native microbiota in morphine treated mice and looked at the extent of restoration and immunological consequences of this restoration. Fecal transplant has been successfully used clinically, especially for treating C. difficile infection2528. With our expanding knowledge of the central role of microbiome in maintenance of host immune homeostasis17, fecal transplant is gaining importance as a therapy for indications resulting from microbial dysbiosis. There is a major difference between fecal transplant being used for the treatment of C. difficile infection and the conditions described in our studies. The former strategy is based on the argument that microbial dysbiosis caused by disproportionate overgrowth of a pathobiont can be out-competed by re-introducing the missing flora by way of a normal microbiome transplant. This strategy is independent of host factors and systemic effects on the microbial composition. Here, we show that microbial dysbiosis caused due to morphine can be reversed by transplantation of microbiota from the placebo-treated animals.