Gut Microbiota May Not Be Fully Restored in Recovered COVID-19 Patients After 3-Month Recovery

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 124 million people worldwide. In addition to the development of therapeutics and vaccines, the evaluation of the sequelae in recovered patients is also important. Recent studies have indicated that COVID-19 has the ability to infect intestinal tissues and to trigger alterations of the gut microbiota. However, whether these changes in gut microbiota persist into the recovery stage remains largely unknown. Here, we recruited seven healthy Chinese men and seven recovered COVID-19 male patients with an average of 3-months after discharge and analyzed their fecal samples by 16S rRNA sequencing analysis to identify the differences in gut microbiota. Our results suggested that the gut microbiota differed in male recovered patients compared with healthy controls, in which a significant difference in Chao index, Simpson index, and β-diversity was observed. And the relative abundance of several bacterial species differed clearly between two groups, characterized by enrichment of opportunistic pathogens and insufficiency of some anti-inflammatory bacteria in producing short chain fatty acids. The above findings provide preliminary clues supporting that the imbalanced gut microbiota may not be fully restored in recovered patients, highlighting the importance of continuous monitoring of gut health in people who have recovered from COVID-19.

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The Influence of Diet and Sex on the Gut Microbiota of Lean and Obese JCR:LA-cp Rats

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9051037 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 1037

Author(s):

Craig Resch ◽

Mihir Parikh ◽

J. Alejandro Austria ◽

Spencer D. Proctor ◽

Thomas Netticadan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Control Diet ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Alpha Diversity ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Female Rats ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Male And Female ◽

Ground Flaxseed ◽

The Impact

There is an increased interest in the gut microbiota as it relates to health and obesity. The impact of diet and sex on the gut microbiota in conjunction with obesity also demands extensive systemic investigation. Thus, the influence of sex, diet, and flaxseed supplementation on the gut microbiota was examined in the JCR:LA-cp rat model of genetic obesity. Male and female obese rats were randomized into four groups (n = 8) to receive, for 12 weeks, either (a) control diet (Con), (b) control diet supplemented with 10% ground flaxseed (CFlax), (c) a high-fat, high sucrose (HFHS) diet, or (d) HFHS supplemented with 10% ground flaxseed (HFlax). Male and female JCR:LA-cp lean rats served as genetic controls and received similar dietary interventions. Illumine MiSeq sequencing revealed a richer microbiota in rats fed control diets rather than HFHS diets. Obese female rats had lower alpha-diversity than lean female; however, both sexes of obese and lean JCR rats differed significantly in β-diversity, as their gut microbiota was composed of different abundances of bacterial types. The feeding of an HFHS diet affected the diversity by increasing the phylum Bacteroidetes and reducing bacterial species from phylum Firmicutes. Fecal short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate, and butyrate-producing bacterial species were correspondingly impacted by the HFHS diet. Flax supplementation improved the gut microbiota by decreasing the abundance of Blautia and Eubacterium dolichum. Collectively, our data show that an HFHS diet results in gut microbiota dysbiosis in a sex-dependent manner. Flaxseed supplementation to the diet had a significant impact on gut microbiota diversity under both flax control and HFHS dietary conditions.

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Reduced fecal short-chain fatty acids levels and the relationship with gut microbiota in IgA nephropathy

10.21203/rs.3.rs-373656/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lingxiong Chai ◽

Qun Luo ◽

Kedan Cai ◽

Kaiyue Wang ◽

Binbin Xu

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Iga Nephropathy ◽

Butyric Acid ◽

Intestinal Flora ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Caproic Acid ◽

Isobutyric Acid ◽

Control Group ◽

Β Diversity

Abstract Background: IgA nephropathy(IgAN)) is the common pathological type of glomerular diseases. The role of gut microbiota in mediating "gut-IgA nephropathy" has not received sufficient attention in the previous studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of fecal short-chain fatty acids(SCFAs), a metabolite of the intestinal microbiota, in patients with IgAN and its correlation with intestinal flora and clinical indicators, and to further investigate the role of the gut-renal axis in IgAN.Methods: There were 29 patients with IgAN and 29 normal control subjects recruited from January 2018 to May 2018. The fresh feces were collected. The fecal SCFAs were measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gut microbiota was analysed by16S rDNA sequences, followed by estimation of α- and β-diversity. Correlation analysis was performed using the spearman’s correlation test between SCFAs and gut microbiota. Results:The levels of acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid and caproic acid in the IgAN patients were significantly reduced compared with control group(P<0.05). Butyric acid(r=-0.336, P=0.010) and isobutyric acid(r=-0.298, P=0.022) were negatively correlated with urea acid; butyric acid(r=-0.316, P=0.016) was negatively correlated with urea nitrogen; caproic acid(r=-0.415,P=0.025) showed negative correlation with 24-h urine protein level.Exemplified by the results of α-diversity and β-diversity, the intestinal flora of IgAN patients was significantly different from that of the control group. Acetic acid was positively associated with c_Clostridia(r=0.357, P=0.008), o_Clostridiales(r=0.357, P=0.008) and g_Eubacterium_coprostanoligenes_group(r=0.283, P=0.036). Butyric acid was positively associated with g_Alistipes (r=0.278, P=0.040). The relative abundance of those were significantly decreased in IgAN group compared to control group.Conclusion: The levels of fecal SCFAs in the IgAN patients were reduced, and correlated with clinical parameters and gut microbiota, which may be involved in the pathogenesis of IgAN, and this finding may provide a new therapeutic approach.

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Intrauterine Hypoxia Changed the Colonization of the Gut Microbiota in Newborn Rats

Frontiers in Pediatrics ◽

10.3389/fped.2021.675022 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Yan Sun ◽

Lei Li ◽

Jiayu Song ◽

Wei Mao ◽

Kaihao Xiao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Biological Information ◽

Control Group ◽

Neonatal Rats ◽

Newborn Rats ◽

Β Diversity ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Intrauterine Hypoxia ◽

Abundance And Diversity

Background: Accumulating evidence suggests a connection between the gut microbiota and neonatal diseases. Hypoxia may play an important role in the intestinal lesions in neonates.Objective: This study aims to determine whether the gut microbiota differs between intrauterine hypoxic rats and healthy controls and to identify the factors that influence the changes in the gut microbiota.Methods: We constructed an intrauterine hypoxia model in rats and collected the intestinal contents of intrauterine hypoxic newborn rats and normal newborn rats within 4 h and on the seventh day after birth. They were divided them into the intrauterine hypoxia first-day group (INH1), intrauterine hypoxia seventh-day group (INH7), normal first-day group (NOR1), and normal seventh-day group (NOR7). The contents of the intestines were sequenced with 16S rRNA sequencing, the sequencing results were analyzed for biological information, and the differences in the diversity, richness, and individual taxa among the groups were analyzed.Results: The abundance of the gut microbiota of neonatal rats with intrauterine hypoxia was higher than that of the control group rats. Intrauterine hypoxia altered the structural composition of the gut microbiota in neonatal rats. The INH1 group showed increased species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and β-diversity, and altered relative abundance in several taxa compared to those in the control group. The differences in the microbiota among the four groups were significantly higher than those within the group, and the differences in the abundance and diversity of the INH7 and NOR7 groups decreased after 7 days of suckling. Functional analysis based on the Cluster of Orthologous Groups (COG) suggested that 23 functional COG categories. There was no significant difference in the functional categories between the hypoxia group and the normal group.Conclusion: Intrauterine hypoxia changed the initial colonization of the gut microbiota in neonatal rats. It could increase the species richness and β-diversity of the gut microbiota, and altered relative abundances of several taxa.

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Probiotics lower plasma glucose in the high-fat fed C57BL/6J mouse

Beneficial Microbes ◽

10.3920/bm2009.0036 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 189-196 ◽

Cited By ~ 59

Author(s):

U. Andersson ◽

C. Bränning ◽

S. Ahrné ◽

G. Molin ◽

J. Alenfall ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Plasma Glucose ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Tolerance Test ◽

Metabolic Effects ◽

Control Group ◽

Oral Glucose ◽

Gut Health ◽

High Fat ◽

Early Diabetes

Today, the gut microbiota is considered a key organ in host nutritional metabolism and recent data have suggested that alterations in gut microbiota contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Accordingly, a whole range of beneficial effects relating to inflammation and gut health have been observed following administration of probiotics to both humans and different animal models. The objective of this study was to evaluate the metabolic effects of an oral probiotic supplement, Lactobacillus plantarum DSM 15313, to high-fat diet (HFD) fed C57BL/6J mice, a model of human obesity and early diabetes. The mice were fed the experimental diets for 20 weeks, after which the HFD had induced an insulin-resistant state in both groups compared to the start of the study. The increase in body weight during the HFD feeding was higher in the probiotic group than in the control group, however, there were no significant differences in body fat content. Fasting plasma glucose levels were lower in the group fed the probiotic supplement, whereas insulin and lipids were not different. Caecal levels of short-chain fatty acids were not significantly different between the groups. An oral glucose tolerance test showed that the group fed probiotics had a significantly lower insulin release compared to the control group, although the rate of glucose clearance was not different. Taken together, these data indicate that L. plantarum DSM 15313 has anti-diabetic properties when fed together with an HFD.

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In Vitro Fecal Fermentation Patterns of Arabinoxylan from Rice Bran on Gut Microbiota in Normal Weight and Overweight/Obese Subjects

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzaa062_017 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 1560-1560

Author(s):

Inah Gu ◽

Wing Shun Lam ◽

Daya Marasini ◽

Cindi Brownmiller ◽

Brett Savary ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Rice Bran ◽

Block Design ◽

16S Rrna Gene Sequencing ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Gut Health ◽

The Impact

Abstract Objectives Arabinoxylan is a non-starch polysaccharide and rich in wheat, rice and many other cereal grains. Diets high in fiber help promoting gut health in obesity. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of arabinoxylan from rice bran on the gut microbiota and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) in normal weight (NW) and overweight/obese (OO) subjects through in vitro fecal fermentation. Methods Arabinoxylan was extracted from rice bran fiber. For in vitro fecal fermentation, each fecal sample from NW (n = 6, 3 males and 3 females) and OO (n = 7, 3 males and 4 females) was diluted into anaerobic medium with three treatments: control (no substrates), fructooligosaccharides (FOS, a well-known prebiotic), and arabinoxylan. Samples were incubated at 37˚C and aliquots were taken at 0, 4, 8, 12 and 24 h. SCFA content from samples at all timepoints was analyzed using HPLC. Samples at 0 and 24 h were used for gut microbiota analysis through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Statistical analyses were performed for the randomized complete block design, where the weight classes are confounded with blocks (subjects). Friedman test was used to determine the difference at 5% level of significance. Results As a result, arabinoxylan treatment significantly increased total SCFA concentration in both NW and OO subjects than control (P < 0.05), comparable to FOS treatment. Between weight classes under arabinoxylan treatment, OO group showed a significantly higher total SCFA content than NW group (P < 0.05). Arabinoxylan changed gut microbial population at the genus level, stimulating Bifidobacterium, Collinsella and Blautia and decreasing Clostridium XIVa and b, Dorea and Oscillibacter (P < 0.05). In addition, different microbiome population was shown in weight classes with three treatments, showing higher Bacteroides in NW and higher Prevotella in OO. Conclusions These results showed that arabinoxylan from rice bran modified gut microbiota in both weight classes, increasing total SCFA content. This study suggests that arabinoxylan from rice bran may have a potential impact on microbial gut health in obesity with prebiotic activities. Funding Sources University of Arkansas.

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Assessing the Effects of Ginger Extract on Polyphenol Profiles and the Subsequent Impact on the Fecal Microbiota by Simulating Digestion and Fermentation In Vitro

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu12103194 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 3194

Author(s):

Jing Wang ◽

Yong Chen ◽

Xiaosong Hu ◽

Fengqin Feng ◽

Luyun Cai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Ph Value ◽

Illumina Miseq ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Fecal Microbiota ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Gut Health ◽

Ginger Extract ◽

Mixed Culture Fermentation

The beneficial effects of ginger polyphenols have been extensively reported. However, their metabolic characteristics and health effects on gut microbiota are poor understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the digestion stability of ginger polyphenols and their prebiotic effects on gut microbiota by simulating digestion and fermentation in vitro. Following simulated digestion in vitro, 85% of the polyphenols were still detectable, and the main polyphenol constituents identified in ginger extract are 6-, 8-, and 10-gingerols and 6-shogaol in the digestive fluids. After batch fermentation, the changes in microbial populations were measured by 16S rRNA gene Illumina MiSeq sequencing. In mixed-culture fermentation with fecal inoculate, digested ginger extract (GE) significantly modulated the fecal microbiota structure and promoted the growth of some beneficial bacterial populations, such as Bifidobacterium and Enterococcus. Furthermore, incubation with GE could elevate the levels of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) accompanied by a decrease in the pH value. Additionally, the quantitative PCR results showed that 6-gingerol (6G), as the main polyphenol in GE, increased the abundance of Bifidobacterium significantly. Therefore, 6G is expected to be a potential prebiotic that improves human health by promoting gut health.

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Gut Microbiome: Profound Implications for Diet and Disease

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11071613 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1613 ◽

Cited By ~ 83

Author(s):

Ronald Hills ◽

Benjamin Pontefract ◽

Hillary Mishcon ◽

Cody Black ◽

Steven Sutton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Gut Microbiome ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Intestinal Bacteria ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

E Coli ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Microbial Profile ◽

Irritable Bowel ◽

Prebiotic Fiber

The gut microbiome plays an important role in human health and influences the development of chronic diseases ranging from metabolic disease to gastrointestinal disorders and colorectal cancer. Of increasing prevalence in Western societies, these conditions carry a high burden of care. Dietary patterns and environmental factors have a profound effect on shaping gut microbiota in real time. Diverse populations of intestinal bacteria mediate their beneficial effects through the fermentation of dietary fiber to produce short-chain fatty acids, endogenous signals with important roles in lipid homeostasis and reducing inflammation. Recent progress shows that an individual’s starting microbial profile is a key determinant in predicting their response to intervention with live probiotics. The gut microbiota is complex and challenging to characterize. Enterotypes have been proposed using metrics such as alpha species diversity, the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes phyla, and the relative abundance of beneficial genera (e.g., Bifidobacterium, Akkermansia) versus facultative anaerobes (E. coli), pro-inflammatory Ruminococcus, or nonbacterial microbes. Microbiota composition and relative populations of bacterial species are linked to physiologic health along different axes. We review the role of diet quality, carbohydrate intake, fermentable FODMAPs, and prebiotic fiber in maintaining healthy gut flora. The implications are discussed for various conditions including obesity, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and cardiovascular disease.

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Metaproteomics Analysis Reveals the Adaptation Process for the Chicken Gut Microbiota

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.02472-13 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 80 (2) ◽

pp. 478-485 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Yue Tang ◽

Anthony Underwood ◽

Adriana Gielbert ◽

Martin J. Woodward ◽

Liljana Petrovska

Keyword(s):

16S Rrna ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

High Throughput Sequencing ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Abundant Species ◽

Fecal Microbiota ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Sequencing Analysis ◽

Content Type ◽

Chicken Gut Microbiota

ABSTRACTThe animal gastrointestinal tract houses a large microbial community, the gut microbiota, that confers many benefits to its host, such as protection from pathogens and provision of essential metabolites. Metagenomic approaches have defined the chicken fecal microbiota in other studies, but here, we wished to assess the correlation between the metagenome and the bacterial proteome in order to better understand the healthy chicken gut microbiota. Here, we performed high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and metaproteomics analysis of fecal samples to determine microbial gut composition and protein expression. 16 rRNA gene sequencing analysis identifiedClostridiales,Bacteroidaceae, andLactobacillaceaespecies as the most abundant species in the gut. For metaproteomics analysis, peptides were generated by using the Fasp method and subsequently fractionated by strong anion exchanges. Metaproteomics analysis identified 3,673 proteins. Among the most frequently identified proteins, 380 proteins belonged toLactobacillusspp., 155 belonged toClostridiumspp., and 66 belonged toStreptococcusspp. The most frequently identified proteins were heat shock chaperones, including 349 GroEL proteins, from many bacterial species, whereas the most abundant enzymes were pyruvate kinases, as judged by the number of peptides identified per protein (spectral counting). Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analyses revealed the functions and locations of the identified proteins. The findings of both metaproteomics and 16S rRNA sequencing analyses are discussed.

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Interplay and cooperation of Helicobacter pylori and gut microbiota in gastric carcinogenesis

BMC Microbiology ◽

10.1186/s12866-021-02315-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Seyedeh Zahra Bakhti ◽

Saeid Latifi-Navid

Keyword(s):

Helicobacter Pylori ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Intestinal Microbiota ◽

Bacterial Species ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Gastric Carcinogenesis ◽

Oncogenic Signaling ◽

Comprehensive Overview ◽

H Pylori ◽

Oncogenic Signaling Pathways

AbstractChronic Helicobacter pylori infection is a critical risk factor for gastric cancer (GC). However, only 1–3 % of people with H. pylori develop GC. In gastric carcinogenesis, non-H. pylori bacteria in the stomach might interact with H. pylori. Bacterial dysbiosis in the stomach can strengthen gastric neoplasia development via generating tumor-promoting metabolites, DNA damaging, suppressing antitumor immunity, and activating oncogenic signaling pathways. Other bacterial species may generate short-chain fatty acids like butyrate that may inhibit carcinogenesis and inflammation in the human stomach. The present article aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of the effects of gut microbiota and H. pylori on the development of GC. Next, the potential mechanisms of intestinal microbiota were discussed in gastric carcinogenesis. We also disserted the complicated interactions between H. pylori, intestinal microbiota, and host in gastric carcinogenesis, thus helping us to design new strategies for preventing, diagnosing, and treating GC.

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Effects of Altered Dietary Fiber on the Gut Microbiota, Short-Chain Fatty Acids and Cecum of Chickens during Different Growth Periods

10.20944/preprints202002.0109.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Baosheng Sun ◽

Linyue Hou ◽

Yu Yang

Keyword(s):

Gut Microbiota ◽

Dietary Fiber ◽

Total Content ◽

Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽

Gut Health ◽

High Fiber ◽

High Feed ◽

Long Term Observation ◽

And Function

Increasing numbers of researchers are interested in the importance of dietary fiber for the gut microbiota, microbiotal metabolite SCFA, energy metabolism and gut health of the host. However, studies have demonstrated that long-term and longitudinal observation may be needed to evaluate the effect of dietary fiber better, and few such works have been made in chickens. Therefore, we successively fed low-fiber, high--fiber and low-fiber diets to two breeds of chickens during different growth periods (1—8, 9—20 and 21—50 weeks), aiming to longitudinally observe the long-term effect of altered dietary fiber on the gut microbiota, SCFA and development of cecum of chickens with age. The results showed that the composition and function of the gut microbiota, SCFA and the development of the cecum were different during different periods, which was largly affected by dietary fiber. However, the causes of some effects were different during the different periods. For example, compared with that in low-fiber chickens at 8 weeks, dominant fiber-degradation bacteria such as Bacteroidetes, Alloprevotella and SCFA-producing bacteria such as Faecalibacterium increased due to a high-fiber diet at 20 weeks, while due to a high feed intake in 50 weeks. Moreover, the concentration of SCFA in 20 weeks was significantly higher than in 8 weeks and 50 weeks, but the causes of this difference were also distinct. It was proposed that a long-term observation was needed to evaluate the effect of dietary fiber better on chickens. The metabolite pathways of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters encoded by Firmicutes were enriched in 8 weeks, while a two-component system and β–glucosidase encoded by Bacteroidetes were enriched in 20 and 50 weeks. The trend was the same in two breeds of chickens except for Alloprevotella. In addition, the total content of SCFA in the contents of cecum was also affected by the size of the cecum. Surprisingly, the length of the cecum shortened from 20—50 weeks, maybe due to reduced dietary fiber.

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