Gut Prevotella copri abundance linked to elevated post-exercise inflammation.

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Exercise physiology
• Inflammation biology

Background:

• The gut microbiome plays a role in host inflammation.
• Exercise can induce transient inflammatory responses.
• Understanding the interplay between gut microbes and exercise is crucial for health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between gut microbiome composition and exercise-induced inflammation in cyclists.
• To identify specific gut microbial taxa associated with pro-inflammatory markers post-exercise.

Main Methods:

• Collected stool and blood samples from 25 cyclists over 10 weeks.
• Performed whole genome shotgun sequencing for microbiome analysis.
• Quantified plasma oxylipins, focusing on arachidonic acid (ARA) and cytochrome P-450 (CYP) metabolites.

Main Results:

• Pro-inflammatory ARA-CYP oxylipins were elevated post-exercise.
• Increased Prevotella copri (P. copri) abundance strongly correlated with higher oxylipins.
• Higher P. copri abundance was negatively associated with gut microbiome alpha diversity.

Conclusions:

• A novel positive association exists between P. copri abundance and post-exercise inflammation.
• P. copri abundance significantly explains exercise-induced inflammatory variance in cyclists.
• This highlights P. copri as a key factor in exercise-related inflammation.