COVID-19 and gut dysbiosis, understanding the role of probiotic supplements in reversing gut dysbiosis and immunity

Abstract

In December 2019, an outbreak of novel beta-coronavirus started in Wuhan, China, spread globally as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and is still underway. The causative agent for COVID-19 identified as a novel strain of beta coronavirus named nSARS-CoV-2. The nSARS-CoV-2 primarily targets the respiratory tract and results in severe acute respiratory distress (ARDS), leading to the collapse of the respiratory tract. The virus internalizes primarily via ACEII receptor, and many tissues reported a significant level of expression of ACEII receptor including lungs, hearts, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. The clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are diverse, but growing evidence suggests that gut dysbiosis is one of them and poses a threat to native immunity. The human microbial ecology plays a vital role in human physiology, including building immunity. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) habitats trillions of beneficial microbes’ precisely bacterial species synchronize with human physiology and remain symbiotic. On the contrary, harmful microbiota seeks an opportunity to break the equilibrium failure of balance between beneficial and detrimental human gut microbiota results in impaired physiology and immunity. The grown research evidence demonstrated that infection caused by the nSARS-CoV-2 result in moderate to severe diarrheal outcomes. The diarrheal conditions in COVID-19 patients are due to alteration of gut microbial ecology. The management of COVID-19 requires specialized therapeutics along with a series of nutraceuticals. Probiotics remain vital nutrient supplements in COVID-19 management, offer relief in diarrhea and improve/restore immunity. This study uses available data/findings to emphasize an association between COVID-19 and gut dysbiosis. The study also provides a scientific basis of impaired immunity during gut dysbiosis in COVID-19 and how probiotics help restore and improve impaired immunity and diarrhea.

Serum biomarkers for nutritional status as predictors in COVID-19 patients before and after vaccination

“…In fact, the more drastic changes verified in the acute-phase proteins analyzed in this study from pre-vaccine when compared to post-vaccine cohorts could be due to gut microbiota dysbiosis that lowers α-Gal levels critically associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 severity ( de la Fuente et al, 2021 , Luo et al, 2021 , Ferreira et al, 2020 ). Therefore, the use α-Gal-containing probiotics for COVID-19 patients could function as vaccine carriers, immune boosters and dysbiosis balancers ( Aldhafiri, 2022 , Al-Ansari et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Along with environmental and genetic factors, diet plays an essential role in the composition of the intestinal microbiota. The intestinal microbiota interacts with the host and modulates the immune response ( Aldhafiri, 2022 ). Consequently, its improvement through personalized nutritional support and the application of prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics and postbiotics can help reducing the effect of COVID-19, particularly in elderly, immunocompromised or malnourished patients ( Aldhafiri, 2022 , Brugliera et al, 2020 , Mirashrafi et al, 2021 , Singh and Rao, 2021 , Xavier-Santos et al, 2022 ).…”

Detection of COVID-19 infection from CT images using the medical photogrammetry technique

“…During the epidemic, 255 million people lost their jobs [8]. The COVID-19 virus affects humans' respiratory, renal, neuronal, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular systems and causes severe pathologies in many organs, such as the heart and kidney, especially the lungs [9,10]. The infection can cause serious complications in the elderly, in people with weakened immune systems, and in patients with chronic health problems such as cardiovascular diseases such as heart valve diseases/peripheral vascular diseases, diabetes, lung cancer, liver diseases, and hypertension.…”

COVID-DSNet: A novel deep convolutional neural network for detection of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) cases from CT and Chest X-Ray images

“…SARS-CoV-2 virus; can be transmitted through droplets, indirect contact of infected people with surfaces, tools or devices used by infected people, and direct contact with the infected person [30] . SARS-CoV-2 infection primarily affects the respiratory system and the cardiovascular, neuronal, renal, and gastrointestinal [31] . However, it causes serious pathologies in many tissues and organs (heart, brain, kidney, liver, intestine, pancreas), especially in the lung [32] .…”