A prospective analysis of mucosal microbiome-metabonome interactions in colorectal cancer using a combined MAS 1HNMR and metataxonomic strategy

Colon cancer induces a state of mucosal dysbiosis with associated niche specific changes in the gut microbiota. However, the key metabolic functions of these bacteria remain unclear. We performed a prospective observational study in patients undergoing elective surgery for colon cancer without mechanical bowel preparation (n = 18). Using 16 S rRNA gene sequencing we demonstrated that microbiota ecology appears to be cancer stage-specific and strongly associated with histological features of poor prognosis. Fusobacteria (p < 0.007) and ε- Proteobacteria (p < 0.01) were enriched on tumour when compared to adjacent normal mucosal tissue, and fusobacteria and β-Proteobacteria levels increased with advancing cancer stage (p = 0.014 and 0.002 respecitvely). Metabonomic analysis using 1H Magic Angle Spinning Nuclear Magnetic Resonsance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopy, demonstrated increased abundance of taurine, isoglutamine, choline, lactate, phenylalanine and tyrosine and decreased levels of lipids and triglycerides in tumour relative to adjacent healthy tissue. Network analysis revealed that bacteria associated with poor prognostic features were not responsible for the modification of the cancer mucosal metabonome. Thus the colon cancer mucosal microbiome evolves with cancer stage to meet the demands of cancer metabolism. Passenger microbiota may play a role in the maintenance of cancer mucosal metabolic homeostasis but these metabolic functions may not be stage specific.