Microbiome diversity in African American, European American, and Egyptian colorectal cancer patients
Amr Elkholy,
Nagavardhini Avuthu,
Mohammed Abdalla,
Michael Behring,
Prachi Bajpai,
Hyung-Gyoon Kim,
Doaa Header,
Reham AH. Abo Elwafa,
Hesham Saed,
Amira Embaby,
Nefertiti El-Nikhely,
Sarah Obuya,
Mostafa Mohamed,
Ahmed Ashour Badawy,
Ahmed Nawar,
Farrukh Afaq,
Laura Q. Rogers,
Sejong Bae,
James M. Shikany,
Lori Brand Bateman,
Mona Fouad,
Mansoor Saleh,
Temesgen Samuel,
Sooryanarayana Varambally,
Chittibabu Guda,
Waleed Arafat,
Upender Manne
Affiliations
Amr Elkholy
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Nagavardhini Avuthu
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
Mohammed Abdalla
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Michael Behring
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
Prachi Bajpai
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
Hyung-Gyoon Kim
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
Doaa Header
Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt
Reham AH. Abo Elwafa
Department of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt
Hesham Saed
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Amira Embaby
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Nefertiti El-Nikhely
Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Sarah Obuya
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Moi University, Kesses, Kenya
Mostafa Mohamed
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
Ahmed Ashour Badawy
Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt
Ahmed Nawar
Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt
Farrukh Afaq
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
Laura Q. Rogers
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Sejong Bae
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
James M. Shikany
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Lori Brand Bateman
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Mona Fouad
Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Mansoor Saleh
Department of Hematology-Oncology, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya
Temesgen Samuel
Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine Tuskegee, AL, USA
Sooryanarayana Varambally
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
Chittibabu Guda
Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
Waleed Arafat
Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt; Corresponding author. Clinical Oncology, Department of Clinical Oncology and Nuclear Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21131, Egypt.
Upender Manne
Department of Pathology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA; O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Corresponding author. Director of Translational Anatomic Pathology, Wallace Tumor Institute, Room # 420A, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35233, USA.
Purpose: Although there is an established role for microbiome dysbiosis in the pathobiology of colorectal cancer (CRC), CRC patients of various race/ethnicities demonstrate distinct clinical behaviors. Thus, we investigated microbiome dysbiosis in Egyptian, African American (AA), and European American (EA) CRC patients. Patients and methods: CRCs and their corresponding normal tissues from Egyptian (n = 17) patients of the Alexandria University Hospital, Egypt, and tissues from AA (n = 18) and EA (n = 19) patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were collected. DNA was isolated from frozen tissues, and the microbiome composition was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Differential microbial abundance, diversity, and metabolic pathways were identified using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size analyses. Additionally, we compared these profiles with our previously published microbiome data derived from Kenyan CRC patients. Results: Differential microbiome analysis of CRCs across all racial/ethnic groups showed dysbiosis. There were high abundances of Herbaspirillum and Staphylococcus in CRCs of Egyptians, Leptotrichia in CRCs of AAs, Flexspiria and Streptococcus in CRCs of EAs, and Akkermansia muciniphila and Prevotella nigrescens in CRCs of Kenyans (LDA score >4, adj. p-value <0.05). Functional analyses showed distinct microbial metabolic pathways in CRCs compared to normal tissues within the racial/ethnic groups. Egyptian CRCs, compared to normal tissues, showed lower l-methionine biosynthesis and higher galactose degradation pathways. Conclusions: Our findings showed altered mucosa-associated microbiome profiles of CRCs and their metabolic pathways across racial/ethnic groups. These findings provide a basis for future studies to link racial/ethnic microbiome differences with distinct clinical behaviors in CRC.
