Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 14, 2023; 29(14): 2172-2187
Published online Apr 14, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i14.2172
Changes in the gut mycobiome in pediatric patients in relation to the clinical activity of Crohn's disease
Agnieszka Krawczyk, Dominika Salamon, Kinga Kowalska-Duplaga, Barbara Zapała, Teofila Książek, Marta Drażniuk-Warchoł, Tomasz Gosiewski
Agnieszka Krawczyk, Dominika Salamon, Tomasz Gosiewski, Department of Microbiology, Division of Molecular Medical Microbiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow 31-121, Poland
Kinga Kowalska-Duplaga, Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow 30-663, Poland
Barbara Zapała, Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow 31-066, Poland
Teofila Książek, Department of Medical Genetics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow 30-663, Poland
Marta Drażniuk-Warchoł, Department of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University Children's Hospital, Cracow 30-663, Poland
Author contributions: Krawczyk A performed the molecular investigations, interpreted the data, prepared the tables and figures, and wrote the manuscript; Kowalska-Duplaga K recruited patients, and revised the paper; Zapała B analyzed data, and revised the paper; Książek T performed the investigations; Drażniuk-Warchoł M recruited patients; Salamon D, and Gosiewski T coordinated the study, interpreted data, and revised the article; all authors approved the final version of the article.
Supported by National Science Centre (Poland), No. 2019/33/N/NZ5/00698.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Jagiellonian University Bioethics Committee, No. 1072.6120.21.2020.
Informed consent statement: All participants received explanations about the study objectives and expected results, having been enrolled in the study only after signing the informed consent form.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Data sharing statement: Fastq files are available from The Jagiellonian University Repository-online access: https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/handle/item/304597
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tomasz Gosiewski, MSc, PhD, Full Professor, Department of Microbiology, Division of Molecular Medical Microbiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Faculty of Medicine, Czysta 18 Str., Cracow 31-121, Poland. tomasz.gosiewski@uj.edu.pl
Received: December 21, 2022
Peer-review started: December 21, 2022
First decision: January 3, 2023
Revised: January 13, 2023
Accepted: March 9, 2023
Article in press: March 9, 2023
Published online: April 14, 2023
Processing time: 112 Days and 22.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: There is growing evidence that intestinal microorganisms are associated with pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease (CD). Until recently, studies have focused almost exclusively on bacteria. In this study we showed alterations in the fungal composition in pediatric patients with CD. Changes within the specific species of fungi depending on disease activity, and the positive correlation of some species with calprotectin or pediatric CD activity index, give strong evidence that these microorganisms may be of key importance in the development and course of CD. Some fungal species can be helpful in predicting an exacerbation of the disease or even predicting the diagnosis of CD.