Gut microbiota from patients with COVID-19 cause alterations in mice that resemble post-COVID symptoms.
Viviani Mendes de AlmeidaDaiane F EngelMayra F RicciClênio Silva CruzÍcaro Santos LopesDaniele Almeida AlvesMirna d' AuriolJoão MagalhãesElayne C MachadoVictor M RochaToniana G CarvalhoLarisse S B LacerdaJordane C PimentaMariana AganettiGiuliana S ZuccoliBradley J SmithVictor C CarregariErika da Silva RosaIzabela GalvãoGeovanni Dantas CassaliCristiana C GarciaMauro Martins TeixeiraLeiliane C AndréFabiola Mara RibeiroFlaviano S MartinsRafael Simone SaiaVivian Vasconcelos CostaDaniel Martins-de-SouzaPhilip M HansbroJoão Trindade MarquesEric R G R AguiarAngélica Thomas VieiraPublished in: Gut microbes (2023)
Long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 are frequent and of major concern. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection affects the host gut microbiota, which is linked to disease severity in patients with COVID-19. Here, we report that the gut microbiota of post-COVID subjects had a remarkable predominance of Enterobacteriaceae strains with an antibiotic-resistant phenotype compared to healthy controls. Additionally, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels were reduced in feces. Fecal transplantation from post-COVID subjects to germ-free mice led to lung inflammation and worse outcomes during pulmonary infection by multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae . transplanted mice also exhibited poor cognitive performance. Overall, we show prolonged impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the gut microbiota that persist after subjects have cleared the virus. Together, these data demonstrate that the gut microbiota can directly contribute to post-COVID sequelae, suggesting that it may be a potential therapeutic target.