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Rocchi G, Giovanetti M, Benedetti F, Borsetti A, Ceccarelli G, Zella D, Altomare A, Ciccozzi M, Guarino MPL. Gut Microbiota and COVID-19: Potential Implications for Disease Severity. Pathogens 2022; 11:1050. [PMID: 36145482 PMCID: PMC9503814 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11091050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic resulted in an unprecedented global crisis. SARS-CoV-2 primarily causes lung infection trough the binding of the virus with the ACE-2 cell receptor located on the surface of the alveolar epithelial cells. Notably, ACE-2 cell receptors are also expressed in the epithelial cells of the intestinal tract (GI). Recent data showed that the microbial communities of the GI might act as local and systematic inflammatory modulators. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, are frequently observed in infected individuals, and recent released data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 may also spread by fecal-oral transmission. Moreover, the gut microbiota's ecosystem can regulate and be regulated by invading pathogens, including viruses, facilitating an effective immune response, which in turn results in less severe diseases. In this regard, increased SARS-CoV-2 mortality and morbidities appear to be frequently observed in elderly immunocompromised patients and in people with essential health problems, such as diabetes, who, indeed, tend to have a less diverse gut microbiota (dysbiosis). Therefore, it is important to understand how the interaction between the gut microbiota and SARS-CoV-2 might shape the intensity of the infection and different clinical outcomes. Here, we provide insights into the current knowledge of dysbiosis during SARS-CoV-2 infection and methods that may be used to re-establish a more correct microbiota composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia Rocchi
- Department of Science and Engineering for Human and the Environment, University of Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Giovanetti
- Laboratorio de Flavivirus, lnstituto Oswaldo Cruz/Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, Brazil
- Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, University of Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Benedetti
- Institute of Human Virology and Global Virus Network Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Alessandra Borsetti
- National HIV/AIDS Research Center, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Ceccarelli
- Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Davide Zella
- Institute of Human Virology and Global Virus Network Center, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Annamaria Altomare
- Department of Science and Technology for Humans and the Environment, University of Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
- Unit of Digestive Disease, Campus Bio-Medico University, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Massimo Ciccozzi
- Medical Statistic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, University of Biomedical Campus, 00128 Rome, Italy
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