Gut microbiota-derived polyamine pathways associated with mean blood pressure

Area of Science:

• Microbiome research
• Metabolic pathways
• Cardiovascular health

Background:

• Hypertension is a prevalent lifestyle disease linked to salt intake.
• The gut microbiota's role in blood pressure regulation is emerging.
• The specific involvement of polyamine metabolism in hypertension is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between gut microbiota, polyamine metabolism, and salt-sensitive hypertension.
• To explore differences in microbial composition and metabolic gene abundance between hypertensive and normotensive individuals with varying salt excretion.

Main Methods:

• Shotgun metagenomic sequencing of fecal samples from 60 participants stratified by blood pressure and urinary sodium chloride excretion.
• Analysis of gut microbial diversity and abundance of genes involved in arginine-polyamine metabolism.
• Evaluation of clinical parameters related to hypertension.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in gut microbiota alpha-diversity were found between salt-sensitive and non-salt-sensitive hypertensive groups.
• Spermidine synthase (EC 2.5.1.16) abundance was higher in normotensive individuals, irrespective of salt excretion.
• Distinct bacterial species harboring polyamine metabolic genes were identified across different groups.

Conclusions:

• Gut microbiota-mediated polyamine metabolism may play a role in regulating salt-sensitive blood pressure.
• While spermidine synthase and specific bacteria are implicated, other microbial and host factors also contribute to salt sensitivity.
• Further research is needed to validate findings and develop microbiota-targeted hypertension therapies.