Microbial Dynamics in COVID-19: Unraveling the Impact of Human Microbiome on Disease Susceptibility and Therapeutic Strategies

Overview

Journal Curr Microbiol

Specialty Microbiology

Date 2024 Dec 25

PMID 39720963

Authors

Soumya Kanti Guha

Sougata Niyogi

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This review explores the bidirectional relationship between the human microbiome and SARS-CoV-2 infection, elucidating its implications for COVID-19 susceptibility, severity, and therapeutic strategies. Metagenomic analyses reveal notable alterations in microbiome composition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, impacting disease severity and clinical outcomes. Dysbiosis within the respiratory, gastrointestinal, oral, and skin microbiomes exacerbates COVID-19 pathology through immune dysregulation and inflammatory pathways. Understanding these microbial shifts is pivotal for devising targeted therapeutic interventions. Notably, co-infection of oral pathogens with SARS-CoV-2 worsens lung pathology, while gut microbiome dysbiosis influences viral susceptibility and severity. Potential therapeutic approaches targeting the microbiome include probiotics, antimicrobial agents, and immunomodulatory strategies. This review underscores the importance of elucidating host-microbiota interactions to advance precision medicine and public health initiatives in combating COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

References

Blum H . The human microbiome. Adv Med Sci. 2017; 62(2):414-420. DOI: 10.1016/j.advms.2017.04.005. View

Lamers M, Haagmans B . SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2022; 20(5):270-284. DOI: 10.1038/s41579-022-00713-0. View

Cyprian F, Sohail M, Abdelhafez I, Salman S, Attique Z, Kamareddine L . SARS-CoV-2 and immune-microbiome interactions: Lessons from respiratory viral infections. Int J Infect Dis. 2021; 105:540-550. PMC: 7891052. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2021.02.071. View

Thursby E, Juge N . Introduction to the human gut microbiota. Biochem J. 2017; 474(11):1823-1836. PMC: 5433529. DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20160510. View

Man W, de Steenhuijsen Piters W, Bogaert D . The microbiota of the respiratory tract: gatekeeper to respiratory health. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2017; 15(5):259-270. PMC: 7097736. DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro.2017.14. View

Sakamoto M, Umeda M, Benno Y . Molecular analysis of human oral microbiota. J Periodontal Res. 2005; 40(3):277-85. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.2005.00793.x. View

Cogen A, Nizet V, Gallo R . Skin microbiota: a source of disease or defence?. Br J Dermatol. 2008; 158(3):442-55. PMC: 2746716. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2008.08437.x. View

Colella M, Topi S, Palmirotta R, DAgostino D, Charitos I, Lovero R . An Overview of the Microbiota of the Human Urinary Tract in Health and Disease: Current Issues and Perspectives. Life (Basel). 2023; 13(7). PMC: 10381901. DOI: 10.3390/life13071486. View

Malla M, Dubey A, Kumar A, Yadav S, Hashem A, Abd Allah E . Exploring the Human Microbiome: The Potential Future Role of Next-Generation Sequencing in Disease Diagnosis and Treatment. Front Immunol. 2019; 9:2868. PMC: 6330296. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2018.02868. View

10.

Florindo H, Kleiner R, Vaskovich-Koubi D, Acurcio R, Carreira B, Yeini E . Immune-mediated approaches against COVID-19. Nat Nanotechnol. 2020; 15(8):630-645. PMC: 7355525. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-0732-3. View

11.

Levy M, Kolodziejczyk A, Thaiss C, Elinav E . Dysbiosis and the immune system. Nat Rev Immunol. 2017; 17(4):219-232. DOI: 10.1038/nri.2017.7. View

12.

Kaufmann S, Dorhoi A, Hotchkiss R, Bartenschlager R . Host-directed therapies for bacterial and viral infections. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2017; 17(1):35-56. PMC: 7097079. DOI: 10.1038/nrd.2017.162. View

13.

Fakharian F, Thirugnanam S, Welsh D, Kim W, Rappaport J, Bittinger K . The Role of Gut Dysbiosis in the Loss of Intestinal Immune Cell Functions and Viral Pathogenesis. Microorganisms. 2023; 11(7). PMC: 10384393. DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11071849. View

14.

Fakhruddin K, Samaranayake L, Buranawat B, Ngo H . Oro-facial mucocutaneous manifestations of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19): A systematic review. PLoS One. 2022; 17(6):e0265531. PMC: 9159624. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265531. View

15.

Reynoso-Garcia J, Miranda-Santiago A, Melendez-Vazquez N, Acosta-Pagan K, Sanchez-Rosado M, Diaz-Rivera J . A complete guide to human microbiomes: Body niches, transmission, development, dysbiosis, and restoration. Front Syst Biol. 2024; 2. PMC: 11238057. DOI: 10.3389/fsysb.2022.951403. View

16.

VanEvery H, Franzosa E, Nguyen L, Huttenhower C . Microbiome epidemiology and association studies in human health. Nat Rev Genet. 2022; 24(2):109-124. DOI: 10.1038/s41576-022-00529-x. View

17.

Chen L, Zhernakova D, Kurilshikov A, Andreu-Sanchez S, Wang D, Augustijn H . Influence of the microbiome, diet and genetics on inter-individual variation in the human plasma metabolome. Nat Med. 2022; 28(11):2333-2343. PMC: 9671809. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02014-8. View

18.

Sommer F, Anderson J, Bharti R, Raes J, Rosenstiel P . The resilience of the intestinal microbiota influences health and disease. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2017; 15(10):630-638. DOI: 10.1038/nrmicro.2017.58. View

19.

Nyholm L, Koziol A, Marcos S, Botnen A, Aizpurua O, Gopalakrishnan S . Holo-Omics: Integrated Host-Microbiota Multi-omics for Basic and Applied Biological Research. iScience. 2020; 23(8):101414. PMC: 7416341. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101414. View

20.

Young R, Marcelino V, Chonwerawong M, Gulliver E, Forster S . Key Technologies for Progressing Discovery of Microbiome-Based Medicines. Front Microbiol. 2021; 12:685935. PMC: 8258393. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.685935. View