In:
BMC Infectious Diseases, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 23, No. 1 ( 2023-08-18)
Abstract:
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a multifaceted disease potentially responsible for various clinical manifestations including gastro-intestinal symptoms. Several evidences suggest that the intestine is a critical site of immune cell development, gut microbiota could therefore play a key role in lung immune response. We designed a monocentric longitudinal observational study to describe the gut microbiota profile in COVID-19 patients and compare it to a pre-existing cohort of ventilated non-COVID-19 patients. Methods From March to December 2020, we included patients admitted for COVID-19 in medicine (43 not ventilated) or intensive care unit (ICU) (14 ventilated) with a positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay in a respiratory tract sample. 16S metagenomics was performed on rectal swabs from these 57 COVID-19 patients, 35 with one and 22 with multiple stool collections. Nineteen non-COVID-19 ICU controls were also enrolled, among which 14 developed ventilator-associated pneumonia (pneumonia group) and five remained without infection (control group). SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in fecal samples were measured by qPCR. Results Although similar at inclusion, Shannon alpha diversity appeared significantly lower in COVID-19 and pneumonia groups than in the control group at day 7. Furthermore, the microbiota composition became distinct between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 groups. The fecal microbiota of COVID-19 patients was characterized by increased Bacteroides and the pneumonia group by Prevotella . In a distance-based redundancy analysis, only COVID-19 presented significant effects on the microbiota composition. Moreover, patients in ICU harbored increased Campylobacter and decreased butyrate-producing bacteria, such as Lachnospiraceae , Roseburia and Faecalibacterium as compared to patients in medicine. Both the stay in ICU and patient were significant factors affecting the microbiota composition. SARS-CoV-2 viral loads were higher in ICU than in non-ICU patients. Conclusions Overall, we identified distinct characteristics of the gut microbiota in COVID-19 patients compared to control groups. COVID-19 patients were primarily characterized by increased Bacteroides and decreased Prevotella . Moreover, disease severity showed a negative correlation with butyrate-producing bacteria. These features could offer valuable insights into potential targets for modulating the host response through the microbiota and contribute to a better understanding of the disease's pathophysiology. Trial registration CER-VD 2020–00755 (05.05.2020) & 2017–01820 (08.06.2018).
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1471-2334
DOI:
10.1186/s12879-023-08511-6
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2023
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2041550-3
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