Stool Samples From the 1980s Hold Clues to Fighting HIV Today

THURSDAY, Dec. 9, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- What bash each the microbes surviving rent-free successful your gut person to bash with illness risk? Perhaps a lot.

A groundbreaking analysis of decades-old stool and humor samples from the aboriginal AIDS epidemic suggests that men who had precocious levels of inflammation-causing bacteria successful their intestinal tract whitethorn person had a greater hazard for contracting HIV.

At contented is the circumstantial constitution of the bacteria, fungi, algae and different single-celled organisms that colonize everyone's digestive tract. Collectively, they're known arsenic the gut microbiome.

"A steadfast gut microbiome is indispensable for galore bodily functions, specified arsenic turning nutrient into energy, warring atrocious pathogens and maintaining the lining of our intestines," said survey pb writer Yue Chen, an subordinate prof of infectious diseases and microbiology astatine the University of Pittsburgh. "Scientists are progressively learning that it has different wide-ranging impacts, including warring cancer, influencing our behaviour and activating our immune response."

This caller survey recovered that men infected successful the aboriginal stages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic had much pro-inflammatory gut microbes earlier they became HIV-positive than did men who remained HIV-negative.

And definite types of gut microbes seemed to beryllium associated with a quicker progression from HIV corruption to full-blown AIDS, the survey found.

Study co-author Charles Rinaldo said he'd been looking into a imaginable nexus betwixt the microbiome and HIV/AIDS for the amended portion of 4 decades.

That effort kicked into precocious cogwheel erstwhile helium and his colleagues astatine Pitt uncovered "a treasure trove of specimens" disposable for investigation — namely, 35-year-old stool and humor samples collected from a radical of cheery men starting successful 1984.

All had been portion of a U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) study, and each the samples were frozen.

That allowed researchers caller entree to samples from 265 men.

None had HIV erstwhile they joined the NIH's study. Within a twelvemonth of providing humor and stool samples, however, 109 had contracted the microorganism that causes AIDS.

To the 21st period researchers, their samples were telling.

"Participants who went connected to declaration HIV had a greater comparative abundance of 'Prevotella stercorea' — a bacterium that promotes inflammation — and little levels of 4 'Bacteroides' taxon that are known to beryllium progressive successful immune response," Chen noted.

Analyses of humor samples besides indicated that participants who yet contracted HIV had higher levels of inflammation earlier they were infected, Chen said.

"My colleagues and I judge that the unfavorable gut microbiome was aggravating the immune effect and promoting inflammation, making the men much susceptible to contracting HIV, and little capable to forestall the illness from progressing to AIDS successful a clip earlier antiretroviral therapy existed," Chen said.

And though a technological blast from the past, the caller findings could connection penetration into tackling a big of existent and emerging viral challenges, the researchers said.

"It is important for america to recognize that humans are analyzable organisms that big different analyzable organisms," said Rinaldo, a prof of infectious diseases and microbiology.

"What we eat, our activities and biology exposures, and a assortment of different factors tin each power however we respond to a pathogen and whether we go earnestly sick oregon person a benign infection," helium explained. "If the gut microbiome influences a person's susceptibility to HIV successful this way, it could beryllium doing the aforesaid for different pathogens, specified arsenic COVID-19."

Two experts, who were not progressive successful the survey but reviewed the findings, agreed.

"The microbiome is 1 constituent of however your assemblage responds immunologically," said Dr. Christina Price, main of objective allergy and objective immunology astatine Yale University successful New Haven, Conn. She described the findings arsenic "interesting" and "remarkable," but successful nary mode surprising.

Along with our skin, tears, mucus and saliva, the gut is 1 of the superior earthy immunity defence systems, added Lona Sandon of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center astatine Dallas.

Sandon referred to her ain probe into an evident nexus betwixt microbiome presumption and rheumatoid arthritis risk. That work, she said, showed that portion "a steadfast gut microbiome keeps the gut partition healthy," microbial disruptions tin undermine the gut's extortion from disease.

"If the microbiome creates an situation successful which these tissues cannot respond effectively, past immunity volition beryllium negatively impacted," she said.

The caller findings were published online Dec. 9 successful the diary Microbiome.

More information

Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health has much astir the microbiome.

SOURCES: Yue Chen, PhD, subordinate professor, infectious diseases and microbiology, University of Pittsburgh; Charles Rinaldo, PhD, professor, infectious diseases and microbiology, University of Pittsburgh; Christina Price, MD, chief, objective allergy and immunology, Yale University, and chief, allergy and objective immunology, West Haven VA, New Haven, Conn.; Lona Sandon, PhD, MEd, RDN, LD, programme manager and adjunct professor, section of objective nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center astatine Dallas; Microbiome, Dec. 9, 2021, online