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

Abstract

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.

The Role of Gut Microbiota and Its Metabolites in Patients with Heart Failure

“…Other results were obtained by Drapkina and his team [14]. They examined the composition of the gut microbiota in three groups of patients: those with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), and HFpEF patients.…”

“…The intestinal microbiota produces diverse metabolites that exhibit effects on the body, both positive and negative [14]. More research attempts to identify the relationship between these metabolites and specific diseases and even use them as potential predictive factors.…”

Gut microbiota at different stages of cardiovascular disease continuum

“…Анализ КМ проводился с помощью методов ПЦР-РВ и секвенирования нового поколения (next generation sequencing, NGS). Проведение экспериментов подробно описано в предыдущей статье [6].…”

The Mediterranean Diet, Its Microbiome Connections, and Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review”

“…The microbiota, and their genes, called the microbiome, has been studied intensely through the past years using novel metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics approaches [73]. Fecal microbiota composition and diversity may be evaluated by three methods: living organisms are determined using bacterial cultures, total DNA taxonomic composition is estimated by next generation sequencing of rRNA gene and quantitative assessment of several taxa is performed using specific quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) [94]. Landmark microbiome-host genome-wide association studies have identified many SNPs associated with gut microbiota [95].…”

“…Some microbial components are more represented in in the blood, fecal and plaque samples of patients with cardiovascular risk factors or disease [3,94,95,[114][115][116][117][118][119][120].…”