Gut microbiome compositional clusters in association with cardiovascular risk: An observational cohort study

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Genomics

Background:

• The gut microbiome (GM) plays a role in atherosclerosis development.
• Its utility as a biomarker for cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• Identify distinct gut microbiome clusters associated with elevated CV risk.
• Explore the potential of GM profiling for risk stratification in patients with CV comorbidities.

Main Methods:

• Prospective observational cohort study of 211 patients with CV risk factors.
• 16S rDNA sequencing to analyze bacterial DNA.
• Unsupervised hierarchical clustering to define GM profiles.
• Cox regression to assess association between GM clusters and Major Adverse Cardiac Events (MACE).

Main Results:

• Two distinct GM clusters (Cluster H and Cluster L) were identified.
• Cluster L, associated with healthier CV profiles and lower MACE incidence (HR=0.48), exhibited higher diversity and a lower Bacillota-to-Bacteroidetes ratio.
• Specific bacterial taxa differed significantly between clusters, with Cluster L enriched in Bacteroides, Alistipes, and Parabacteroides.

Conclusions:

• Distinct gut microbiome profiles are linked to varying levels of cardiovascular risk.
• Unsupervised GM profiling shows promise as a novel tool for patient risk stratification and guiding individualized therapies.