Successful weight regain attenuation by autologous fecal microbiota transplantation is associated with non-core gut microbiota changes during weight loss; randomized controlled trial
Omer Kamer,
Ehud Rinott,
Gal Tsaban,
Alon Kaplan,
Anat Yaskolka Meir,
Hila Zelicha,
Dan Knights,
Kieran Tuohy,
Francesca Fava,
Matthias Uwe Scholz,
Oren Ziv,
Elad Rubin,
Matthias Blüher,
Michael Stumvoll,
Uta Ceglarek,
Karine Clément,
Omry Koren,
Frank B. Hu,
Meir J. Stampfer,
Dong D. Wang,
Ilan Youngster,
Iris Shai
Affiliations
Omer Kamer
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Ehud Rinott
Department of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
Gal Tsaban
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Alon Kaplan
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Anat Yaskolka Meir
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Hila Zelicha
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Dan Knights
BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, St Paul, USA
Kieran Tuohy
Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Trento, Italy
Francesca Fava
Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Trento, Italy
Matthias Uwe Scholz
Department of Food Quality and Nutrition, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Trento, Italy
Oren Ziv
Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
Elad Rubin
Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
Matthias Blüher
Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Michael Stumvoll
Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Uta Ceglarek
Department of Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Karine Clément
Inserm, Nutrition and obesities: systemic approaches, nutriOmicsn Research Unit, Nutrition Department, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Assistance-Publique Hopitaux de Paris, Sorbonne University, Paris, France
Omry Koren
Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
Frank B. Hu
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
Meir J. Stampfer
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
Dong D. Wang
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
Ilan Youngster
Pediatric Division and Center for Microbiome Research, Shamir Medical Center, Be’er Ya’akov, Israel
Iris Shai
Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, The International Center of Health, Innovation & Nutrition On the memory of Manya Igel, Beer-Sheva, Israel
ABSTRACTWe previously reported that autologous-fecal-microbiota-transplantation (aFMT), following 6 m of lifestyle intervention, attenuated subsequent weight regain and insulin rebound for participants consuming a high-polyphenol green-Mediterranean diet. Here, we explored whether specific changes in the core (abundant) vs. non-core (low-abundance) gut microbiome taxa fractions during the weight-loss phase (0–6 m) were differentially associated with weight maintenance following aFMT. Eighty-two abdominally obese/dyslipidemic participants (age = 52 years; 6 m weightloss = −8.3 kg) who provided fecal samples (0 m, 6 m) were included. Frozen 6 m’s fecal samples were processed into 1 g, opaque and odorless aFMT capsules. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 100 capsules containing their own fecal microbiota or placebo over 8 m-14 m in ten administrations (adherence rate > 90%). Gut microbiome composition was evaluated using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Non-core taxa were defined as ≤ 66% prevalence across participants. Overall, 450 species were analyzed. At baseline, 13.3% were classified as core, and Firmicutes presented the highest core proportion by phylum. During 6 m weight-loss phase, abundance of non-core species changed more than core species (P < .0001). Subject-specific changes in core and non-core taxa fractions were strongly correlated (Jaccard Index; r = 0.54; P < .001). Following aFMT treatment, only participants with a low 6 m change in core taxa, and a high change in non-core taxa, avoided 8–14 m weight regain (aFMT = −0.58 ± 2.4 kg, corresponding placebo group = 3.18 ± 3.5 kg; P = .02). In a linear regression model, low core/high non-core 6 m change was the only combination that was significantly associated with attenuated 8–14 m weight regain (P = .038; P = .002 for taxa patterns/treatment intervention interaction). High change in non-core, low-abundance taxa during weight-loss might mediate aFMT treatment success for weight loss maintenance.ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT03020186
