A high-risk gut microbiota configuration associates with fatal hyperinflammatory immune and metabolic responses to SARS-CoV-2

Bibliographic Details
Title: A high-risk gut microbiota configuration associates with fatal hyperinflammatory immune and metabolic responses to SARS-CoV-2
Authors: Werner C. Albrich, Tarini Shankar Ghosh, Sinead Ahearn-Ford, Flora Mikaeloff, Nonhlanhla Lunjani, Brian Forde, Noémie Suh, Gian-Reto Kleger, Urs Pietsch, Manuel Frischknecht, Christian Garzoni, Rossella Forlenza, Mary Horgan, Corinna Sadlier, Tommaso Rochat Negro, Jérôme Pugin, Hannah Wozniak, Andreas Cerny, Ujjwal Neogi, Paul W. O’Toole, Liam O’Mahony
Source: Gut Microbes, Vol 14, Iss 1 (2022)
Publisher Information: Taylor & Francis Group, 2022.
Publication Year: 2022
Collection: LCC:Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology
Subject Terms: Microbiota, COVID-19, cytokines, inflammation, metabolites, tryptophan, Diseases of the digestive system. Gastroenterology, RC799-869
More Details: Protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and associated clinical sequelae requires well-coordinated metabolic and immune responses that limit viral spread and promote recovery of damaged systems. However, the role of the gut microbiota in regulating these responses has not been thoroughly investigated. In order to identify mechanisms underpinning microbiota interactions with host immune and metabolic systems that influence coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outcomes, we performed a multi-omics analysis on hospitalized COVID-19 patients and compared those with the most severe outcome (i.e. death, n = 41) to those with severe non-fatal disease (n = 89), or mild/moderate disease (n = 42), that recovered. A distinct subset of 8 cytokines (e.g. TSLP) and 140 metabolites (e.g. quinolinate) in sera identified those with a fatal outcome to infection. In addition, elevated levels of multiple pathobionts and lower levels of protective or anti-inflammatory microbes were observed in the fecal microbiome of those with the poorest clinical outcomes. Weighted gene correlation network analysis (WGCNA) identified modules that associated severity-associated cytokines with tryptophan metabolism, coagulation-linked fibrinopeptides, and bile acids with multiple pathobionts, such as Enterococcus. In contrast, less severe clinical outcomes are associated with clusters of anti-inflammatory microbes such as Bifidobacterium or Ruminococcus, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and IL-17A. Our study uncovered distinct mechanistic modules that link host and microbiome processes with fatal outcomes to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These features may be useful to identify at risk individuals, but also highlight a role for the microbiome in modifying hyperinflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious agents.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 19490976
1949-0984
1949-0976
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/1949-0976; https://doaj.org/toc/1949-0984
DOI: 10.1080/19490976.2022.2073131
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/906a11afae294962914ce126884cfda9
Accession Number: edsdoj.906a11afae294962914ce126884cfda9
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:19490976
19490984
DOI:10.1080/19490976.2022.2073131
Published in:Gut Microbes
Language:English