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Review
. 2022 Jun 20:9:890127.
doi: 10.3389/fmed.2022.890127. eCollection 2022.

Gut Microbiota Shifting in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Mysterious Role of Blastocystis sp

Alireza Olyaiee  1 , Amir Sadeghi  2 , Abbas Yadegar  3 , Elnaz Sadat Mirsamadi  4 , Hamed Mirjalali  3
Affiliations
Review

Gut Microbiota Shifting in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The Mysterious Role of Blastocystis sp

Alireza Olyaiee et al. Front Med (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a chronic disorder, which its causative agent is not completely clear; however, the interaction between microorganisms and gastrointestinal (GI) epithelial cells plays a critical role in the development of IBS and presenting symptoms. During recent decades, many studies have highlighted the high prevalence of Blastocystis sp. in patients with IBS and suggested a probable role for this protist in this disease. Recent studies have documented changes in the gut microbiota composition in patients with IBS regarding the presence of Blastocystis sp., but it is not clear that either disturbance of the gut during GI disorders is a favorable condition for Blastocystis sp. colonization or the presence of this protist may lead to alteration in the gut microbiota in IBS patients. In this review, we comprehensively gather and discuss scientific findings covering the role of Blastocystis sp. in IBS via gut microbiota shifting.

Keywords: Blastocystis sp.; dysbiosis; gut microbiota; irritable bowel syndrome; post-infectious-IBS.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The schematic view presenting a correlation between Blastocystis sp. and certain microbiota signatures. The presence of Blastocystis sp. has not been linked with specific signature of gut microbiota. Although this protist seems to a healthy indicator for the gut microbiota, Blastocystis sp. can reduce a Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and protective bacteria. In addition, the low and high presence of Blastocystis sp. in IBD and IBS, respectively, might be related to the differences in the gut microbiota composition between IBD and IBS.
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