image: Group A is the asymptomatic patients; Group D is viral re-positive patients without adverse health outcomes; Group C is patients with adverse outcomes; Group H is healthy participants. view more
Credit: Beijing Zhongke Journal Publising Co. Ltd.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global epidemic disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease leads to acute respiratory symptoms, including fever, cough and breathing difficulties. Most patients can recover from the disease in a few weeks after treatment, but approximately 10-20% of people experience chronic symptoms for a few months or even longer, including fatigue, headache, inflammation, gastrointestinal symptoms, muscle soreness, sleep disturbances and ageusia. This condition is referred to as long COVID-19or chronic COVID-19. The key factor that leads to the health outcome variation in COVID-19 patients is still unclear.
The study led by Dr. Jikai Wen and Yiqun Deng (College of Life Sciences, South China Agricultural University), Dr. Xian-En Zhang (Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) and Dr. Xiaodong Li (Hubei Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine) aims to answer the question. Ruqin Lin, the first author of the study, collected fecal samples from 81 participants in Wuhan, China, including 13 asymptomatic patients, 31 patients with viral re-positive but no adverse outcomes, 24 participants with adverse outcomes, and 13 healthy controls. A shotgun metagenomic sequencing was conducted to characterize fecal samples' microbial diversity, composition and functional genes.
“We find featured microorganisms for patients with and without adverse health outcomes”, Lin says, “patients without adverse health outcomes have a higher gut microbial diversity and more abundant short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) producing species than patients with adverse health outcomes. Also, functional genes in folate biosynthesis, vitamin B6 metabolism and secondary bile acid biosynthesis can reduce chronic symptoms of COVID-19 patients”.
“This study sheds new insights into the treatment of chronic COVID-19,” Wen says, “gut microbiota dysbiosis impedes the recovery of COVID‐19. Probiotics and dietary supplements (short‐chain fatty acid, bile acid, selenium, folate, vitamin B6) may alleviate COVID‐19 symptoms and promote prognosis.”
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