Influence of Gut Microbiota and Trimethylamine N-Oxide in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease

Pilot study assessing gut microbial diversity among sexual and gender minority young adults

Evidence supports that people identifying as a sexual or gender minority (SGMs) experience minority-related stress resulting from discrimination or expectations of prejudice, and that this is associated with increased mental and physical health problems compared to cisgender heterosexuals. However, the biological mechanisms driving minority-related stress impacts remain unknown, including the role of the gut microbiome. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the relationship between SGM status and gut microbiome health among young adults attending a 4-year university. To this end, a prospective pilot study was completed in the fall and spring semesters of 2021-22. Self-identified SGMs (N = 22) and cisgender-heterosexuals (CIS-HET, N = 43) completed in-person interviews to provide mental health data and demographic information. Nail and saliva samples were collected at the time of interview to quantify chronic and acute cortisol. Stool samples were collected within 48 hours of interview for microbiome analysis. Assessment of the gut microbiota identified a significant reduction in alpha diversity among the SGM group, even when adjusting for mental health outcome. SGM group showed trends for higher abundance of microbes in phylum Bacteroidetes and lower abundance of microbes in phyla Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria compared to the CIS-HET group. These findings support that the gut microbiome could be contributing to negative health effects among the SGM community.

Prospect of research on anti-atherosclerosis effect of main components of traditional Chinese medicine Yiqi Huoxue Huatan recipe through gut microbiota: A review

The incidence and mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases are on the rise globally, posing a severe threat to human health. Atherosclerosis (AS) is considered a multi-factorial inflammatory disease and the main pathological basis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as the leading cause of death. Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota can induce and exacerbate inflammatory reactions, accelerate metabolic disorders and immune function decline, and affect the progression and prognosis of AS-related diseases. The Chinese herbal medicine clinicians frequently utilize Yiqi Huoxue Huatan recipe, an effective therapeutic approach for the management of AS. This article reviews the correlation between the main components of Yiqi Huoxue Huatan recipe and the gut microbiota and AS to provide new directions and a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of AS.

Diversities in the Gut Microbial Patterns in Patients with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases and Certain Heart Failure Phenotypes

To continue progress in the treatment of cardiovascular disease, there is a need to improve the overall understanding of the processes that contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Exploring the role of gut microbiota in various heart diseases is a topic of great interest since it is not so easy to find such reliable connections despite the fact that microbiota undoubtedly affect all body systems. The present study was conducted to investigate the composition of gut microbiota in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and heart failure syndromes with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HF with preserved EF (HFpEF), and to compare these results with the microbiota of individuals without those diseases (control group). Fecal microbiota were evaluated by three methods: living organisms were determined using bacterial cultures, total DNA taxonomic composition was estimated by next generation sequencing (NGS) of 16S rRNA gene (V3-V4) and quantitative assessment of several taxa was performed using qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction). Regarding the bacterial culture method, all disease groups demonstrated a decrease in abundance of Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis in comparison to the control group. The HFrEF group was characterized by an increased abundance of Streptococcus sanguinus and Streptococcus parasanguinis. NGS analysis was conducted at the family level. No significant differences between patient's groups were observed in alpha-diversity indices (Shannon, Faith, Pielou, Chao1, Simpson, and Strong) with the exception of the Faith index for the HFrEF and control groups. Erysipelotrichaceae were significantly increased in all three groups; Streptococcaceae and Lactobacillaceae were significantly increased in ASCVD and HFrEF groups. These observations were indirectly confirmed with the culture method: two species of Streptococcus were significantly increased in the HFrEF group and Lactobacillus plantarum was significantly increased in the ASCVD group. The latter observation was also confirmed with qPCR of Lactobacillus sp. Acidaminococcaceae and Odoribacteraceae were significantly decreased in the ASCVD and HFrEF groups. Participants from the HFpEF group showed the least difference compared to the control group in all three study methods. The patterns found expand the knowledge base on possible correlations of gut microbiota with cardiovascular diseases. The similarities and differences in conclusions obtained by the three methods of this study demonstrate the need for a comprehensive approach to the analysis of microbiota.