Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

Background: Aspergillus coinfection in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), is a serious clinical challenge associated with increased mortality. Understanding the factors contributing to this co-infection is crucial for improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to rev...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Meng-Yu Liu, Sheng-Fu He, Yu-Yao Li, Jiao-Jiao Shen, Jia-Jia Li, Ya-Sheng Li, Yan-Yan Liu, Ting Wu, Jia-Bin Li, Li-Fen Hu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Journal of Infection and Public Health
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034125001868
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849344821616967680
author Meng-Yu Liu
Sheng-Fu He
Yu-Yao Li
Jiao-Jiao Shen
Jia-Jia Li
Ya-Sheng Li
Yan-Yan Liu
Ting Wu
Jia-Bin Li
Li-Fen Hu
author_facet Meng-Yu Liu
Sheng-Fu He
Yu-Yao Li
Jiao-Jiao Shen
Jia-Jia Li
Ya-Sheng Li
Yan-Yan Liu
Ting Wu
Jia-Bin Li
Li-Fen Hu
author_sort Meng-Yu Liu
collection DOAJ
description Background: Aspergillus coinfection in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), is a serious clinical challenge associated with increased mortality. Understanding the factors contributing to this co-infection is crucial for improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to reveal the role of the intestinal mycobiome in SFTS severity and the risk of Aspergillus coinfection, with the goal of identifying potential therapeutic targets. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from 80 patients both during their hospitalization and post-discharge. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing and fungal profiling of intestine were performed. R statistical software (version 3.5.1) was used for data processing and analysis. Results: The intestinal mycobiomes of SFTS patients showed strong alterations characterized by increased Aspergillus species, and a highly heterogeneous mycobiome configuration compared to healthy controls. The Aspergillus had a positive correlation with coinfection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) and disease severity of SFTS (p < 0.001), whereas Saccharomycetales and Candida were more abundant in SFTS patients without IPA (p < 0.001). In SFTS patients with IPA, A. subversicolor, A. flavus and A. penicillioides were the three most common fungal species. Longitudinal dynamic detection revealed that patients who experienced significant fluctuations in their intestinal mycobiome tended to have more severe illness. After recovering, the gut mycobiome of patients can recover and stabilize within a month. Conclusion: The research highlighted enrichment of intestinal Aspergillus was conducive to IPA and disease severity in SFTS patients. Monitoring the gut mycobiome could potentially be used as a biomarker to assess disease severity of SFTS.
format Article
id doaj-art-c7275f394dbe46c3ac64e88d96c77c8a
institution Kabale University
issn 1876-0341
language English
publishDate 2025-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Journal of Infection and Public Health
spelling doaj-art-c7275f394dbe46c3ac64e88d96c77c8a2025-08-20T03:42:34ZengElsevierJournal of Infection and Public Health1876-03412025-09-0118910283710.1016/j.jiph.2025.102837Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndromeMeng-Yu Liu0Sheng-Fu He1Yu-Yao Li2Jiao-Jiao Shen3Jia-Jia Li4Ya-Sheng Li5Yan-Yan Liu6Ting Wu7Jia-Bin Li8Li-Fen Hu9Department of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Department of Gastroenterology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaAnhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Correspondence to: Department of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Jixi Road 218, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Correspondence to: Department of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Jixi Road 218, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaDepartment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Correspondence to: Department of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, Jixi Road 218, Hefei, Anhui, ChinaBackground: Aspergillus coinfection in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), is a serious clinical challenge associated with increased mortality. Understanding the factors contributing to this co-infection is crucial for improving patient outcomes. This study aimed to reveal the role of the intestinal mycobiome in SFTS severity and the risk of Aspergillus coinfection, with the goal of identifying potential therapeutic targets. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from 80 patients both during their hospitalization and post-discharge. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing and fungal profiling of intestine were performed. R statistical software (version 3.5.1) was used for data processing and analysis. Results: The intestinal mycobiomes of SFTS patients showed strong alterations characterized by increased Aspergillus species, and a highly heterogeneous mycobiome configuration compared to healthy controls. The Aspergillus had a positive correlation with coinfection of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) and disease severity of SFTS (p < 0.001), whereas Saccharomycetales and Candida were more abundant in SFTS patients without IPA (p < 0.001). In SFTS patients with IPA, A. subversicolor, A. flavus and A. penicillioides were the three most common fungal species. Longitudinal dynamic detection revealed that patients who experienced significant fluctuations in their intestinal mycobiome tended to have more severe illness. After recovering, the gut mycobiome of patients can recover and stabilize within a month. Conclusion: The research highlighted enrichment of intestinal Aspergillus was conducive to IPA and disease severity in SFTS patients. Monitoring the gut mycobiome could potentially be used as a biomarker to assess disease severity of SFTS.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034125001868Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndromeIntestineMycobiomeInvasive pulmonary aspergillosisDabie bandavirus
spellingShingle Meng-Yu Liu
Sheng-Fu He
Yu-Yao Li
Jiao-Jiao Shen
Jia-Jia Li
Ya-Sheng Li
Yan-Yan Liu
Ting Wu
Jia-Bin Li
Li-Fen Hu
Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
Journal of Infection and Public Health
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
Intestine
Mycobiome
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis
Dabie bandavirus
title Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
title_full Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
title_fullStr Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
title_full_unstemmed Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
title_short Alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
title_sort alterations in the intestinal fungal microbiome of patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
topic Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome
Intestine
Mycobiome
Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis
Dabie bandavirus
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034125001868
work_keys_str_mv AT mengyuliu alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT shengfuhe alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT yuyaoli alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT jiaojiaoshen alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT jiajiali alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT yashengli alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT yanyanliu alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT tingwu alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT jiabinli alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome
AT lifenhu alterationsintheintestinalfungalmicrobiomeofpatientswithseverefeverwiththrombocytopeniasyndrome