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.
Project description:Faeces are considered easily accessible biological specimens that can be used to monitor gastrointestinal disorders. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be enriched from calf faeces, and these faecal extracellular vesicles (fEVs) consist of a diverse range of biological molecules, such as proteins, DNA, and RNA. The double membrane of EVs and the charged corona preserve their cargo, including proteins, from proteases, nucleases, and harsh environmental conditions. This enables the recovery of intact proteins secreted by the host and GI tract organisms, preserving their natural structure and function. While fEVs are suggested to mediate inter-species communication in the GI tract, the role of their protein cargo in GI infections remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the possibility of using fEVs as a non-invasive tool to investigate gut health and infections in claves. We considered Cryptosporidiosis as a model gut disease in calves to study the alteration in the proteomic profile of fEVs under gut infections.