The aim of the study was to determine the impact of
biological treatment with
tumor necrosis factor α
antibodies (anti-TNF-α) on the intestinal microbiome of children with severe
Crohn's disease (CD) and to evaluate the differences in the intestinal microbiome between patients treated with
biological therapy and healthy children. Microbiota composition was analyzed by 16S next-generation sequencing (NGS) and microbial profiles were compared between studied groups. Fifty-four samples (from 18 patients before and after anti-TNF-α induction
therapy and 18 healthy children) were used in the sequencing analysis. Shannon's diversity index (p = 0.003, adj. p = 0.010) and observed operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (p = 0.007, adj. p = 0.015) were different between controls and patients with prior
therapy for CD. Statistically significant dissimilarities between beta diversity metrics, indicating distinct community composition across groups, were observed in patients with CD before and after
therapy. We did not observe any differences between controls and patients with CD after
therapy. Core microbiome analysis at species level showed that 32 species were present only in patients with CD but not in controls. The results show that
biological treatment is associated with changes in the intestinal microbiome of patients with CD: these changes result in an intestinal microbiome pattern similar to that seen in healthy children. Long-term observation is necessary to determine whether treatment can lead to full restoration of a healthy-like microbiome.