Fecal Carbohydrate-Degrading Bacteria Are Associated With Reduced Incidence of Lower Gastrointestinal GVHD

Authors

Christopher Fan
Tomo Hayase
Chia-Chi Chang
Israel K Glover
Ivonne I Flores
Lauren K McDaniel
Miriam R Ortega
Christopher A Sanchez
Rawan K El-Himri
Alexandria N Brown
Jennifer L Karmouch
Mohamed A Jamal
Saira S Ahmed
Taylor M Halsey
Yimei Jin
Wen-Bin Tsai
Rishika Prasad
Altai Enkhbayar
Aqsa Mohammed
Maren Schmiester
Ashish Damania
Nadim J Ajami
Jennifer A Wargo
Christine B Peterson
Gabriela Rondon
Taha Al-Juhaishi
Amin M Alousi
Jeffrey J Molldrem
Richard E Champlin
Elizabeth J Shpall
Eric Martens
Cesar A Arias
Robert R Jenq
Eiko Hayase

Language

English

Publication Date

3-24-2026

Journal

Blood Advances

DOI

10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

PMID

41558030

Abstract

Lower gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (LGI-GVHD) carries morbidity and mortality for patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), with critical contributions from the intestinal microbiome. In a retrospective cohort of metagenomic sequencing of stool from patients with allo-HSCT (N = 90), we found that a reduction in specific Parabacteroides and Bacteroides species around the time of engraftment contributes to LGI-GVHD risk. Given the known diverse carbohydrate-degrading functionality of these bacteria, we investigated gene abundances for carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) and found that Parabacteroides merdae, P distasonis, and Bacteroides ovatus abundances were significantly correlated with CAZymes in patients who did not develop LGI-GVHD compared with those who did. The specific gene abundances of xylosidase, which contribute to the degradation of xylose-containing polysaccharides, were significantly associated with a reduced risk of LGI-GVHD. All these findings show the importance of the carbohydrate-degrading functionality of putative beneficial bacteria in mediating risk of LGI-GVHD.

Keywords

Humans, Graft vs Host Disease, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Gastrointestinal Microbiome, Feces, Female, Male, Incidence, Middle Aged, Bacteria, Adult, Carbohydrate Metabolism, Retrospective Studies, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Metagenomics

Published Open-Access

yes

Recommended Citation

Fan, Christopher; Hayase, Tomo; Chang, Chia-Chi; et al., "Fecal Carbohydrate-Degrading Bacteria Are Associated With Reduced Incidence of Lower Gastrointestinal GVHD" (2026). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 6287.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthgsbs_docs/6287