Relationship between gut microbiota and nutritional status in patients on peritoneal dialysis

Malnutrition is a common complication in the dialysis population, both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD). We report our exploratory study on the characteristics of intestinal microbiota and nutritional status in PD patients. The nutritional status of our PD patients were evaluated, and their feces were collected for 16S rRNA gene V3-V4 regions amplification and high-throughput sequencing. The characteristics and differences of microbiota between the well-nourished (W) and malnourished (M) groups were compared. We studied the genera and the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within the genus of our patients, initially comparing the malnourished and the well- nourished groups and later on reanalyzing the whole group using these OTUs. At the OTU level, 6 bacteria were significantly correlated with the serum albumin level. The abundances of 2 OTUs (OTU208 Lachnospiraceae_incertae_sedi and OTU4 Bacteroides) were more in W group. Meanwhile, 4 OTUs (OTU225 Akkermansia, OTU87 Megasphaera, OTU31 Peptostreptococcaceae_incertae_sedi and OTU168 Clostridium_sensu_strictu) displayed higher abundance among individuals in M group. Notably, the OTU168 Clostridium_sensu_stricto was the only bacteria that significantly correlated with serum albumin (r = − 0.356, P = 0.05), pre-albumin (r = − 0.399, P = 0.02), and SGA (r = 0.458, P = 0.01). The higher the OTU168 Clostridium_sensu_strictu, the lower serum albumin and pre-albumin and a higher score of SGA signifying a worse nutritional status. Our preliminary findings suggested a relationship between the nutrition status and microbiota in PD patients. Our results provide a basis for further exploration of the interactions between malnutrition and intestinal flora in PD patients with potential interventions using probiotics and prebiotics.