Inflammatory Bowel Disease and COVID-19: How Microbiomics and Metabolomics Depict Two Sides of the Same Coin

Abstract

The integrity of the gastrointestinal tract structure and function is seriously compromised by two pathological conditions sharing, at least in part, several pathogenetic mechanisms: inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. IBD and COVID-19 are marked by gut inflammation, intestinal barrier breakdown, resulting in mucosal hyperpermeability, gut bacterial overgrowth, and dysbiosis together with perturbations in microbial and human metabolic pathways originating changes in the blood and fecal metabolome. This review compared the most relevant metabolic and microbial alterations reported from the literature in patients with IBD with those in patients with COVID-19. In both diseases, gut dysbiosis is marked by the prevalence of pro-inflammatory bacterial species and the shortfall of anti-inflammatory species; most studies reported the decrease in Firmicutes, with a specific decrease in obligately anaerobic producers short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. In addition, Escherichia coli overgrowth has been observed in IBD and COVID-19, while Akkermansia muciniphila is depleted in IBD and overexpressed in COVID-19. In patients with COVID-19, gut dysbiosis continues after the clearance of the viral RNA from the upper respiratory tract and the resolution of clinical symptoms. Finally, we presented and discussed the impact of gut dysbiosis, inflammation, oxidative stress, and increased energy demand on metabolic pathways involving key metabolites, such as tryptophan, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamine, succinate, citrate, and lipids.

Impact ofLycium barbarumarabinogalactan on the fecal metabolome in a DSS-induced chronic colitis mouse model

“…40,41 Furthermore, the tryptophan levels were inversely correlated with biomarkers (e.g., IL-6 and C-reactive protein) of chronically active inflammation, thereby regulating intestinal inflammation. 38,42 Tryptophan is also a candidate marker of response to the frequently used biologic therapeutic Infliximab in IBD patients. 43 What is more, tryptophan could be metabolized into kynurenine and indole by gut microbiota.…”

Gut Microbes Reveal Pseudomonas Medicates Ingestion Preference via Protein Utilization and Cellular Homeostasis Under Feed Domestication in Freshwater Drum, Aplodinotus grunniens

“…Evidence suggests that microbial diversity is a marker of a healthy intestinal microbiome (Lozupone et al, 2012). Generally, microbiome diversity is relatively lower in diseased individuals compared to that of healthy individuals in humans (Cortes et al, 2022) and mice (Zhang et al, 2021). However, studies also reveal that starvation could increase the intestinal microbial diversity in desert locusts (Dillon et al, 2010) and fish (Xia et al, 2014).…”

Inflammation and immunity connect hypertension with adverse COVID-19 outcomes

“…IL10 has pleiotropic effects on immunoregulation and inflammation of mucosal tissues. Notably, mucosal integrity and immunity are indispensable for the prevention of symptomatic COVID-19 ( Arrieta et al, 2009 ; Cortes et al, 2022 ). In a recent genome-wide study, IL10RB was identified as the top key regulator of COVID-19 host susceptibility, with higher IL10RB expression in patient blood being associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes ( Voloudakis et al, 2021 ).…”