Impact of Human Microbiome on Health

Role of Gut Microbiome in Cardiovascular Events: A Systematic Review

The gut microbiome helps maintain homeostasis in the body, but what if the gut experiences imbalance? It would lead to dysbiosis - which is involved in multiple diseases, including but not limited to cardiovascular diseases, the most common cause of mortality around the globe. This research paper aims to explain all the possible mechanisms known linking the gut microbiome to the contribution of worsening cardiovascular events. PubMed and Google Scholar were thoroughly explored to learn the role of the gut microbiome in cardiovascular events. A systematic review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to analyze the possible pathways and the metabolites included in the study. Thirteen review articles were selected based on the assessment of multiple systematic reviews (AMSTAR) and the scale for the assessment of non-systematic review articles (SANRA) checklist scores. In this article, we have discussed the role of the gut microbiome in atherosclerosis, hypertension, metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity, coronary artery disease, etc. Various pathways to modify the gut microbiome are also discussed, along with the use of probiotics. Finally, we discussed the role of trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiome metabolite, as a biomarker for the prognosis of various diseases. This study concluded that the gut microbiome does play a crucial role in the worsening of cardiovascular diseases and the metabolites of which can be used as biomarkers in the prognosis of cardiovascular events.

How Hydroxyurea Alters the Gut Microbiome: A Longitudinal Study Involving Angolan Children with Sickle Cell Anemia

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is an inherited hematological disorder and a serious global health problem, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although hydroxyurea (HU) is the leading treatment for patients with SCA, its effects on the gut microbiome have not yet been explored. In this context, the aim of this study was to investigate this association by characterizing the gut microbiome of an Angolan SCA pediatric population before and after 6 months of HU treatment. A total of 66 stool samples were obtained and sequenced for the 16S rRNA gene (V3-V4 regions). Significant associations were observed in alpha and beta-diversity, with higher values of species richness for the children naïve for HU. We also noticed that children after HU had higher proportions of several beneficial bacteria, mostly short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) producing species, such as Blautia luti, Roseburia inulinivorans, Eubacterium halli, Faecalibacterium, Ruminococcus, Lactobacillus rogosae, among others. In addition, before HU there was a higher abundance of Clostridium_g24, which includes C. bolteae and C. clostridioforme, both considered pathogenic. This study provides the first evidence of the HU effect on the gut microbiome and unravels several microorganisms that could be considered candidate biomarkers for disease severity and HU efficacy.