1.
Intestinal Microbiota in Cardiovascular Health and Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review.
Tang, WHW, Bäckhed, F, Landmesser, U, Hazen, SL
Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2019;(16):2089-2105
Abstract
Despite major strides in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden with modification of classic CVD risk factors, significant residual risks remain. Recent discoveries that linked intestinal microbiota and CVD have broadened our understanding of how dietary nutrients may affect cardiovascular health and disease. Although next-generation sequencing techniques can identify gut microbial community participants and provide insights into microbial composition shifts in response to physiological responses and dietary exposures, provisions of prebiotics or probiotics have yet to show therapeutic benefit for CVD. Our evolving understanding of intestinal microbiota-derived physiological modulators (e.g., short-chain fatty acids) and pathogenic mediators (e.g., trimethylamine N-oxide) of host disease susceptibility have created novel potential therapeutic opportunities for improved cardiovascular health. This review discusses the roles of human intestinal microbiota in normal physiology, their associations with CVD susceptibilities, and the potential of modulating intestinal microbiota composition and metabolism as a novel therapeutic target for CVD.
2.
Partners of patients with ulcerative colitis exhibit a biologically relevant dysbiosis in fecal microbial metacommunities.
Chen, GL, Zhang, Y, Wang, WY, Ji, XL, Meng, F, Xu, PS, Yang, NM, Ye, FQ, Bo, XC
World journal of gastroenterology. 2017;(25):4624-4631
Abstract
AIM: To investigate alterations in the fecal microbiome using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing in couples in the same cohabitation environment. METHODS Fecal samples were collected from eight ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and their healthy partners at Lishui People's Hospital, Zhejiang Province, China. DNA was extracted and the variable regions V3 and V4 of the 16S rRNA genes were PCR amplified using a two-step protocol. Clear reads were clustered into operational taxonomic units (OTUs) at the 97% sequence similarity level using UCLUST v1.2.22. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test (R v3.1.2) was used to compare inter-individual differences. Differences with a P value < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS Fecal microbial communities were more similar among UC patients than their healthy partners (P = 0.024). UC individuals had a lower relative abundance of bacteria belonging to the Firmicutes, especially Blautia, Clostridium, Coprococcus and Roseburia (P < 0.05). Microbiota dysbiosis was detected in UC patients and their healthy partners. Relevant genera included Akkermansiam, Bacteroides, Escherichia, Lactobacillales, Klebsiella and Parabacteroides. The enriched pathways in fecal samples of UC patients were related to lipid and nucleotide metabolism. Additionally, the pathways involved in membrane transport and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins were more abundant in the healthy partners. CONCLUSION Our results suggested that the microbial composition might be affected in healthy partners cohabiting with UC patients, especially in terms of microbiota dysbiosis.