Retracted: Gut microbiota and COVID‐19: A systematic review

Abstract

Background and Aims Alteration in humans' gut microbiota was reported in patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2). The gut and upper respiratory tract (URT) microbiota harbor a dynamic and complex population of microorganisms and have strong interaction with host immune system homeostasis. However, our knowledge about microbiota and its association with SARS‐CoV‐2 is still limited. We aimed to systematically review the effects of gut microbiota on the SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and its severity and the impact that SARS‐CoV‐2 could have on the gut microbiota. Methods We searched the keywords in the online databases of Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Cochrane on December 31, 2021. After duplicate removal, we performed the screening process in two stages; title/abstract and then full‐text screening. The data of the eligible studies were extracted into a pre‐designed word table. This study adhered to the PRISMA checklist and Newcastle−Ottawa Scale Bias Assessment tool. Results Sixty‐three publications were included in this review. Our study shows that among COVID‐19 patients, particularly moderate to severe cases, the gut and lung microbiota was different compared to healthy individuals. In addition, the severity, and viral load of COVID‐19 disease would probably also be influenced by the gut, and lung microbiota's composition. Conclusion Our study concludes that there was a significant difference in the composition of the URT, and gut microbiota in COVID‐19 patients compared to the general healthy individuals, with an increase in opportunistic pathogens. Further, research is needed to investigate the probable bidirectional association of COVID‐19 and human microbiome.

Disentangling the interactions between nasopharyngeal and gut microbiome and their involvement in the modulation of COVID-19 infection

“…This preliminary analysis of the shared bacterial species revealed that 11 species are exclusively shared between nasopharyngeal and fecal samples of COVID-19 patients, while 16 species were solely shared between COVID-19-negative samples ( Table 2 ). Interestingly, the microbial species shared by the samples with COVID-19 include species belonging to the Bacteroides genus, such as Bacteroides ovatus , Bacteroides xylanisolvens , which have already been observed to be positively correlated to increased disease severity ( 31 , 32 ). In contrast, COVID-19-negative samples showed the sharing of potentially beneficial bacterial species, such as F. prausnitzii , that is hypothesized to be involved in producing several anti‐inflammatory compounds ( 2 , 32 ).…”

Alterations in the gut microbiome and its metabolites are associated with the immune response to mucosal immunization with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum-displaying recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike epitopes in mice

“…Mucispirillum is a mucus-associated commensal responsible for activating T-cell-dependent IgA production ( Bunker et al., 2015 ; Loy et al., 2017 ) and protecting the host from Salmonella infection ( Herp et al., 2019 ). Enterorhabdus is an SCFA producer via carbohydrate metabolism ( Bagheri et al., 2022 ; Ma et al., 2022 ) and is depleted in patients with COVID-19, indicating its potential beneficial role in gut homeostasis ( Al Bataineh et al., 2021 ; SeyedAlinaghi et al., 2023 ).…”

“…Vaccination against the virus remains the most effective way to combat COVID-19, and several vaccines have since been developed, each designed to specifically target vulnerabilities in the viral life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 ( Al-Jighefee et al., 2021 ). SARS-CoV-2 infection alters the host gut microbiome; conversely, the gut microbiome influences the disease severity and impacts host’s response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines ( Chen et al., 2021 ; Li et al., 2022 ; Pereira et al., 2022 ; Zhang et al., 2022a ; SeyedAlinaghi et al., 2023 ). Moreover, recent evidence suggests that the gut microbiome is associated with post-acute COVID-19 syndrome ( Liu et al., 2022 ).…”

Gut Microbiota and Microbial Metabolism in Early Risk of Cardiometabolic Disease

“…309,310 Following the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, several studies have focused on the role of the gut microbiota in COVID-19 and postacute COVID-19 syndrome (or long-COVID). The gut microbiota of patients with COVID-19 has been reported to be altered when compared with uninfected individuals, 311 and microbiota have been found to associate with severity of infection and outcomes within patients with COVID-19. [312][313][314] Specific microbes were reported to be associated with postacute COVID-19 syndrome and with various symptoms, including respiratory and neuropsychiatric.…”