Differences in gut microbiota composition in children with acute gastroenteritis due to human norovirus

doi:10.19871/j.cnki.xfcrbzz.2025.05.008

Abstract

Abstract: Objective To investigate the characteristics of gut microbiota in children with symptomatic human norovirus (HNoV) infection and to perform functional analysis. Method Twenty-five preschool children who received treatment for acute gastroenteritis caused by HNoV infection in the Pediatrics Department of Dazu Hospital affiliated to Chongqing Medical University from July 2024 to November 2024 were included as the HNoV group. In addition, 25 healthy children who tested negative for HNoV GII gene amplification were included as the control group according to the propensity score matching principle. Fecal samples from both groups were collected to analyze gut microbiota characteristics. Evaluate alpha-diversity, beta-diversity, taxonomic groups with different abundance, and microbial functions through bioinformatics analysis. Result Compared with the control group, the gut microbiota of the HNoV group was enriched in Firmicutes (62.25% vs 57.24%), while the proportions of Actinobacteria (1.57% vs 3.02%) and Bacteroidetes (0.22% vs 1.14%) were relatively reduced, and leading to an increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio(11.20% vs 17.21%, P=0.003). Similarly, significant microbial differences were observed at both the family and genus levels between the two groups. The abundances of Vibrio (P=0.006), Pseudomonas (P=0.017), Enterococcus (P=0.020), and Clostridium (P=0.036) in the HNoV group were higher than those in the control group. The differences in these microorganisms were accompanied by genetic variations involved in the biosynthesis, transport, and catabolism of secondary metabolites, particularly an increased function of nitrate reductase and an elevated abundance of alkyl hydroperoxide reductase subunit C, which may contribute to greater susceptibility to HNoV. Conclusion HNoV infection leads to significant reduction in gut microbiota abundance and diversity and significant dysregulation of gut microbiota composition and function in children.

Key words: Human norovirus, Gut microbiota, 16S rRNA amplicon pyrophosphate sequencing, Function prediction

CLC Number:

R512.5

Wang Tingting, Lei Fang, Yang Yang, Chen Cen, Zhou Yan. Differences in gut microbiota composition in children with acute gastroenteritis due to human norovirus[J]. Electronic Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, 2025, 10(5): 41-46.

References

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24 参考文献
[1] SCHERER D, SCHÖNWEISS C, DE ROCHE M, et al. Norovirus - an update for practitioners[J]. Praxis (Bern 1994), 2025, 114(3):99-104.
[2] ZHU M, HUANG Z, LIU T, et al.Global burden and trends of norovirus-associated diseases from 1990 to 2021 an observational trend study[J]. Front Public Health, 2025, 12:1483149.
[3] CARLSON KB, DILLEY A, O'GRADY T, et al. A narrative review of norovirus epidemiology, biology, and challenges to vaccine development[J]. NPJ Vaccines, 2024, 9(1):94.
[4] 吉彦莉, 王永全, 崔海洋, 等. 一起由诺如病毒和肠道腺病毒混合感染引起的急性胃肠炎聚集性疫情的病原鉴定及进化分析[J]. 传染病信息, 2023, 36(2):124-127.
[5] HANSMAN GS, KHER G, SVIRINA AD, et al.Development of a broad-spectrum therapeutic Fc-nanobody for human noroviruses[J]. J Virol, 2024, 98(7):e0070724.
[6] 杜雪, 赵印震, 张怡青, 等. 基于生物信息学诺如病毒多表位抗原的构建及鉴定[J]. 中国免疫学杂志, 2024, 40(11):2391-2398.
[7] 姬莉莉, 高志勇,耿晓飞, 等. 2012—2023年北京市怀柔区哨点医院病毒性腹泻监测结果分析[J]. 中国病毒病杂志, 2025, 15(1):60-65.
[8] SONG J, ZHANG L, MOON S, et al. Norovirus co-opts NINJ1 for selective protein secretion[J]. Sci Adv, 2025, 11(9):eadu7985.
[9] MIRMAHDI RS, MONTAZERI N.Progress and challenges in thermal inactivation of norovirus in oysters[J]. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2025:1-14.
[10] 曾昭成, 苏泽红, 张小燕. 诺如病毒急性胃肠炎流行特征及病原学特征分析[J]. 中国社区医师, 2024, 40(6): 149-151.
[11] 张彦, 张丹, 苏文冕, 等. 诺如病毒急性胃肠炎流行特征及疫苗研究进展[J]. 中国病原生物学杂志, 2024, 19(9):1112-1114.
[12] TAO L, WANG X, YU Y, et al.Identifying SNP threshold from P2 sequences for investigating norovirus transmission[J]. Virus Res, 2024, 346:199408.
[13] HE T, DENG Y, ZHANG F, et al.Characteristics of Norovirus capsid protein-specific CD8(+) T-Cell responses in previously infected individuals[J]. Virulence, 2024, 15(1):2360133.
[14] 梁耀民, 陆胤波, 曹颖雯, 等. 诺如病毒和肠道菌群的互作关系及机制研究进展[J]. 病毒学报, 2021, 37(5):1215-1220.
[15] SANTISO-BELLÓN C, RANDAZZO W, CARMONA-VICENTE N,et al. Rhodococcus spp. interacts with human norovirus in clinical samples and impairs its replication on human intestinal enteroids[J]. Gut Microbes, 2025, 17(1):2469716.
[16] 祝阳露, 张倩, 李四菊, 等. 狄氏副拟杆菌胞外多糖粗提物的免疫调节活性[J]. 中山大学学报(自然科学版)(中英文), 2022, 61(6):44-50.
[17] WANG L, GUO G, XU Y, et al.The effect of fecal microbiota transplantation on antibiotic-associated diarrhea and its impact on gut microbiota[J]. BMC Microbiol, 2024, 24(1):160.
[18] TIAN X, LI S, WANG C, et al.Gut virome-wide association analysis identifies cross-population viral signatures for inflammatory bowel disease[J]. Microbiome, 2024, 12(1):130.
[19] 陈培, 舒杨, 李洪辉, 等. 基于“肠菌-免疫-关节”轴探讨肠道微生物对痛风性关节炎疼痛机制的影响[J]. 中国微生态学杂志, 2024, 36(11):1344-1349.
[20] GUO J, ZHAO X, HU J, et al.Tobacco Mosaic Virus with Peroxidase-Like Activity for Cancer Cell Detection through Colorimetric Assay[J]. Mol Pharm, 2018, 15(8):2946-2953.
[21] HUANG L, ZHANG X, MAO Z, et al.Ni-Pt nanozyme-mediated relaxation and colorimetric sensor for dual-modality detection of norovirus[J]. Sci Total Environ, 2024, 914:169738.
[22] PEIPER AM, MORALES APARICIO J, HU Z, et al. Metabolic immaturity and breastmilk bile acid metabolites are central determinants of heightened newborn vulnerability to norovirus diarrhea[J]. Cell Host Microbe, 2024, 32(9):1488-1501.e5.
[23] WANG Z, WEI X, PIAO L, et al.Gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic shifts in pediatric norovirus infection: a metagenomic study in Northeast China[J]. Front Cell Infect Microbiol, 2025, 15:160047.