Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD

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

doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD

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 SchmiesterAshish 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

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

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.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1979-1991
Number of pages	13
Journal	Blood Advances
Volume	10
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780
State	Published - Mar 24 2026

Keywords

Humans
Feces/microbiology
Graft vs Host Disease/etiology
Carbohydrate Metabolism
Bacteria/metabolism
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects
Incidence
Gastrointestinal Diseases/etiology
Gastrointestinal Microbiome

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Hematology

Divisions

Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Access to Document

10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

Cite this

Fan, C., Hayase, T., Chang, C. C., Glover, I. K., Flores, I. I., McDaniel, L. K., Ortega, M. R., Sanchez, C. A., El-Himri, R. K., Brown, A. N., Karmouch, J. L., Jamal, M. A., Ahmed, S. S., Halsey, T. M., Jin, Y., Tsai, W. B., Prasad, R., Enkhbayar, A., Mohammed, A., ... Hayase, E. (2026). Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD. Blood Advances, 10(6), 1979-1991. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

Fan, C, Hayase, T, Chang, CC, Glover, IK, Flores, II, McDaniel, LK, Ortega, MR, Sanchez, CA, El-Himri, RK, Brown, AN, Karmouch, JL, Jamal, MA, Ahmed, SS, Halsey, TM, Jin, Y, Tsai, WB, Prasad, R, Enkhbayar, A, Mohammed, A, Schmiester, M, Damania, A, Ajami, NJ, Wargo, JA, Peterson, CB, Rondon, G, Al-Juhaishi, T, Alousi, AM, Molldrem, JJ, Champlin, RE, Shpall, EJ, Martens, E, Arias, CA, Jenq, RR & Hayase, E 2026, 'Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD', Blood Advances, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 1979-1991. https://doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

@article{939d88a823ec4c099e142a8e9dd42748,

title = "Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD",

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, Feces/microbiology, Graft vs Host Disease/etiology, Carbohydrate Metabolism, Bacteria/metabolism, Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects, Incidence, Gastrointestinal Diseases/etiology, Gastrointestinal Microbiome",

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

note = "{\textcopyright} 2026 American Society of Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.",

year = "2026",

month = mar,

day = "24",

doi = "10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "10",

pages = "1979--1991",

journal = "Blood Advances",

issn = "2473-9529",

publisher = "American Society of Hematology",

number = "6",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD

AU - Fan, Christopher

AU - Hayase, Tomo

AU - Chang, Chia Chi

AU - Glover, Israel K.

AU - Flores, Ivonne I.

AU - McDaniel, Lauren K.

AU - Ortega, Miriam R.

AU - Sanchez, Christopher A.

AU - El-Himri, Rawan K.

AU - Brown, Alexandria N.

AU - Karmouch, Jennifer L.

AU - Jamal, Mohamed A.

AU - Ahmed, Saira S.

AU - Halsey, Taylor M.

AU - Jin, Yimei

AU - Tsai, Wen Bin

AU - Prasad, Rishika

AU - Enkhbayar, Altai

AU - Mohammed, Aqsa

AU - Schmiester, Maren

AU - Damania, Ashish

AU - Ajami, Nadim J.

AU - Wargo, Jennifer A.

AU - Peterson, Christine B.

AU - Rondon, Gabriela

AU - Al-Juhaishi, Taha

AU - Alousi, Amin M.

AU - Molldrem, Jeffrey J.

AU - Champlin, Richard E.

AU - Shpall, Elizabeth J.

AU - Martens, Eric

AU - Arias, Cesar A.

AU - Jenq, Robert R.

AU - Hayase, Eiko

N1 - © 2026 American Society of Hematology. Published by Elsevier Inc. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.

PY - 2026/3/24

Y1 - 2026/3/24

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - Humans

KW - Feces/microbiology

KW - Graft vs Host Disease/etiology

KW - Carbohydrate Metabolism

KW - Bacteria/metabolism

KW - Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation/adverse effects

KW - Incidence

KW - Gastrointestinal Diseases/etiology

KW - Gastrointestinal Microbiome

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105032453546

UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=105032453546&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

DO - 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016780

M3 - Article

C2 - 41558030

AN - SCOPUS:105032453546

SN - 2473-9529

VL - 10

SP - 1979

EP - 1991

JO - Blood Advances

JF - Blood Advances

IS - 6

ER -

Fecal carbohydrate-degrading bacteria are associated with reduced incidence of lower gastrointestinal GVHD

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Divisions

Access to Document

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