Variations of tongue coating microbiota in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis

• Published in: Microbial pathogenesis Vol. 160; p. 105192
• Main Authors: Pang, Shuang, Zhao, Shuan, Bai, Xiaohong, Song, Nana, Wang, Shengzhi, Yu, Jiawei, Zhang, Jun, Ding, Xiaoqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2021
• Subjects: 16S rRNA; Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis; Microbiota; Tongue coating; Traditional Chinese medicine; Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis; Traditional Chinese medicine; 16S rRNA; Microbiota; Tongue coating
• ISSN: 0882-4010; 1096-1208
• DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2021.105192

Variations in the oral microbiota have been significantly correlated with the progress of autoimmune diseases, such as immunoglobulin A nephropathy and Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP). However, there is no report outlining the character of tongue coating microbiota variations in children with Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis (HSPN). A total of 20 children with HSPN and 14 healthy controls were recruited for this research. Tongue coating samples of two groups were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The diversity, principal component analysis (PCA), nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) were performed. Microbial function was assessed using the PICRUST. The ACE and Chao indices were greatly lower in the HSPN group than in the HG (P = 0.001). The Shannon and Simpson indices were dramatically reduced in children with HSPN compared with those in the healthy controls (P = 0.005). Bacteroidales, Selenomonadales, Lactobacillales, Fusobacteriales, Neisseriales, and Actinomycetales composed more than 80% of all sequences, while Bacteroidales was the most generous order in both groups. PCA, NMDS and PLS-DA showed a marked difference between the control and HSPN groups. LEfSe analysis showed alteration of tongue coating microbiota in the HSPN group. There were 30 metabolic functions significantly differed between the two groups. Children with HSPN have substantially various tongue coating microbiota compared to healthy controls. Even though this research does not indicate causality, it is beneficial to enhance the possibility for coming microbial-based treatments to enhance the clinical effects of HSPN in children. •The 16S rRNA sequencing was used to investigate tongue coating microbiome.•The lower diversity and richness of tongue coating microbiota were found in children with HSPN.•Compositions of tongue coating microbiota in HSPN children was significantly different from those of healthy controls.•This is the first study about the tongue coating microbiota dysbiosis associated with HSPN in children.