Abstract

Summary Decreases in the diversity of enteric bacterial populations are observed in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Less is known about the virome in these diseases. We show that the enteric virome is abnormal in CD and UC patients. In-depth analysis of preparations enriched for free virions in the intestine revealed that CD and UC were associated with a significant expansion of Caudovirales bacteriophages. The viromes of CD and UC patients were disease and cohort specific. Importantly, it did not appear that expansion and diversification of the enteric virome was secondary to changes in bacterial populations. These data support a model in which changes in the virome may contribute to intestinal inflammation and bacterial dysbiosis. We conclude that the virome is a candidate for contributing to, or being a biomarker for, human inflammatory bowel disease and speculate that the enteric virome may play a role in other diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)447-460
Number of pages14
JournalCell
Volume160
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 29 2015

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Disease-specific alterations in the enteric virome in inflammatory bowel disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this