TY - JOUR
T1 - Improved gut microbiota features after the resolution of SARS‑CoV‑2 infection
AU - De Maio, Flavio
AU - Ianiro, Gianluca
AU - Coppola, Gaetano
AU - Santopaolo, Francesco
AU - Abbate, Valeria
AU - Bianco, Delia Mercedes
AU - Del Zompo, Fabio
AU - De Matteis, Giuseppe
AU - Leo, Massimo
AU - Nesci, Antonio
AU - Nicoletti, Alberto
AU - Pompili, Maurizio
AU - Cammarota, Giovanni
AU - Posteraro, Brunella
AU - Sanguinetti, Maurizio
AU - Gasbarrini, Antonio
AU - Ponziani, Francesca Romana
N1 - Funding Information:
None.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) has a tropism for the gastrointestinal tract and several studies have shown an alteration of the gut microbiota in hospitalized infected patients. However, long-term data on microbiota changes after recovery are lacking. Methods: We enrolled 30 patients hospitalized for SARS‑CoV‑2-related pneumonia. Their gut microbiota was analyzed within 48 h from the admission and compared with (1) that of other patients admitted for suspected bacterial pneumonia (control group) (2) that obtained from the same subject 6 months after nasopharyngeal swab negativization. Results: Gut microbiota alpha-diversity increased 6 months after the resolution of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bacteroidetes relative abundance was higher (≈ 36.8%) in patients with SARS-CoV-2, and declined to 18.7% when SARS-CoV-2 infection resolved (p = 0.004). Conversely, Firmicutes were prevalent (≈ 75%) in controls and in samples collected after SARS-CoV-2 infection resolution (p = 0.001). Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Blautia increased after SARS-CoV-2 infection resolution, rebalancing the gut microbiota composition. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with changes in the gut microbiome, which tend to be reversed in long-term period.
AB - Background: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) has a tropism for the gastrointestinal tract and several studies have shown an alteration of the gut microbiota in hospitalized infected patients. However, long-term data on microbiota changes after recovery are lacking. Methods: We enrolled 30 patients hospitalized for SARS‑CoV‑2-related pneumonia. Their gut microbiota was analyzed within 48 h from the admission and compared with (1) that of other patients admitted for suspected bacterial pneumonia (control group) (2) that obtained from the same subject 6 months after nasopharyngeal swab negativization. Results: Gut microbiota alpha-diversity increased 6 months after the resolution of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Bacteroidetes relative abundance was higher (≈ 36.8%) in patients with SARS-CoV-2, and declined to 18.7% when SARS-CoV-2 infection resolved (p = 0.004). Conversely, Firmicutes were prevalent (≈ 75%) in controls and in samples collected after SARS-CoV-2 infection resolution (p = 0.001). Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae and Blautia increased after SARS-CoV-2 infection resolution, rebalancing the gut microbiota composition. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with changes in the gut microbiome, which tend to be reversed in long-term period.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Gut microbiota
KW - Pneumonia
KW - SARS-CoV-2
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U2 - 10.1186/s13099-021-00459-9
DO - 10.1186/s13099-021-00459-9
M3 - Letter
AN - SCOPUS:85117362310
SN - 1757-4749
VL - 13
JO - Gut Pathogens
JF - Gut Pathogens
IS - 1
M1 - 62
ER -