Microbiome, Mycobiome and Related Metabolites Alterations in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome-A Pilot Study

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) has a rapidly growing worldwide prevalence, affecting over 1 billion people. MetSyn is clustering many pathological conditions, which, untreated, could increase the risk and often lead to more severe metabolic defects such as type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Many data demonstrate the complex role of gut microbiota in the host metabolism, and hence, deciphering the microbiome patterns linked to MetSyn could enable us for novel diagnosis and monitoring markers and for better disease management. Moreover, interventions designed to alter patient microbiome composition may help prevent or decrease morbidity linked with MetSyn. However, the microbiome composition is largely different across geographically distinct populations. Our study investigated the microbiota and mycobiome patterns in Romanian metabolic syndrome patients. We also correlated the identified microbiome-mycobiome patterns with levels of metabolites important for host health such as short chain fatty acids, organic acids, and taurine. We found that MetSyn patients are harboring a microbiome enriched in Enterobacteriaceae, Turicibacter sp., Clostridium coccoides, and Clostridium leptum, while beneficial taxa such as Butyricicoccus sp., Akkermansia muciniphila, and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii were decreased. These microbiome changes were correlated with lower butyrate levels and increased succinate. In terms of mycobiome signatures, MetSyn was associated with a high abundance of Saccharomyces and Aspergillus species. Our data are the first reported on a Romanian population and confirming that the pathogenesis of MetSyn is closely related to gut microbiome and homeostasis.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome; metabolome; microbiome; microbiota; mycobiome.

Figure 1

Microbial phyla analysis in MetSyn patients (n = 30) versus healthy controls (n = 30). (A) Total bacteria represented as Ct values obtained from qRT-PCR targeting the 16S rDNA of all Eubacteria. The abundance of the Bacteroidetes (B), Firmicutes (C), Gamma Proteobacteria (D), Beta Proteobacteria (E), Actinobacteria (F), Tenericutes (G), and Verrucomicrobia (H) phyla in fecal samples harvested from healthy individuals and MetSyn patients; *** p < 0.0001, Mann–Whitney test.

Figure 2

Bacterial population analysis in MetSyn patients (n = 30) versus healthy controls (n = 30). The relative abundance of Clostridium leptum (A), Clostridium coccoides (B), Bacteroides sp. (C), Enterobacteriaceae (D), Ruminococcus (E), Turicibacter (F), Bacteroides-Porphyromonas-Prevotella (G), and Lactobacillus sp. (H) in fecal samples harvested from healthy individuals and MetSyn patients; * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.005, *** p < 0.0001, Mann–Whitney test.

Figure 3

Microbiome-metabolome features in Met Syn. Relative abundance of Butyricicoccus sp. (A), F. prausnitzii (B), and A. muciniphila (C) in Met Syn patients; (D) Metabolite analysis in Healthy controls (n = 30) and MetSyn patients (n = 30); * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.005, *** p < 0.0001, Mann–Whitney test.

Figure 4

Fungal microbiome in MetSyn: total abundance of fungal 18SrDNA (expressed as Ct values) (A). Candida sp. (B), Saccharomyces sp. (C), Aspergillus sp. (D) abundance in fecal samples harvested from healthy individuals and MetSyn patients; Saccharomyces sp.; ** p < 0.01 *** p < 0.0001, Mann–Whitney test.