Detection of Fusobacterium nucleatum in Colorectal Adenomas Reveals Associations with Immune Molecular Signatures
Fusobacterium nucleatum has been implicated in colorectal cancer, but its role in adenomas remains unclear. We applied an RNA-based detection of F. nucleatum in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded adenoma tissue and explored the mutational landscape and transcriptomic profile of F. nucleatum+ patients in comparison to F. nucleatum- patients. Bespoke F. nucleatum probes successfully detected F. nucleatum in 11% of adenomas. F. nucleatum+ patients exhibited a positively enriched anti-bacterial defence response and immune-related transcriptomic signatures, as well as a proliferative profile. These findings suggest that F. nucleatum positivity is associated with immune and proliferative transcriptomic signatures in colorectal adenomas, but this requires validation in larger, longitudinal cohorts.
Authors
- William M. Rooney (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1623-8374)
- Paul Capewell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8803-5034)
- Ditte K. Andersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8455-7823)
- Sara Samir Foad Al-Badran (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6044-5453)
- Joanne Edwards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7192-6906)
- Philip D. Dunne (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9160-283X)
- Gerard Lynch
- Noori Maka
- Natalie Fisher
- Stephen McSorley
- Samantha Campbell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1128-0689)
- Mark Johnstone
Institutions
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GB)
- Cancer Research UK (GB)
- West College Scotland (GB)
- Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute (GB)
- University of Glasgow (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Molecular Sciences
- Published
- 2026-08-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27167258
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- Medical Research Scotland