Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 28;14(17):3545.
doi: 10.3390/nu14173545.

Association of Gut Microbiota with Atherogenic Dyslipidemia, and Its Impact on Serum Lipid Levels after Bariatric Surgery

Priscilla López-Montoya  1   2   3 , Daniel Cerqueda-García  1   2 , Marcela Rodríguez-Flores  4 , Blanca López-Contreras  1   2 , Hugo Villamil-Ramírez  1   2 , Sofía Morán-Ramos  1   2 , Selene Molina-Cruz  1   2   5 , Berenice Rivera-Paredez  6 , Bárbara Antuna-Puente  7 , Rafael Velázquez-Cruz  8 , Teresa Villarreal-Molina  9 , Samuel Canizales-Quinteros  1   2
Affiliations

Association of Gut Microbiota with Atherogenic Dyslipidemia, and Its Impact on Serum Lipid Levels after Bariatric Surgery

Priscilla López-Montoya et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Gut microbiota has been suggested to modulate circulating lipids. However, the relationship between the gut microbiota and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD), defined as the presence of both low HDL-C and hypertriglyceridemia, is not fully understood. Moreover, because obesity is among the main causes of secondary AD, it is important to analyze the effect of gut microbiota composition on lipid profiles after a weight loss intervention. We compared the microbial diversity and taxonomic composition in patients with AD (n = 41) and controls (n = 38) and sought correlations of genera abundance with serum lipid levels in 20 patients after weight loss induced by Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. Gut microbiota composition was profiled using next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA. Gut microbiota diversity was significantly lower in atherogenic dyslipidemia. Moreover, relative abundance of two genera with LDA score >3.5 (Megasphaera and LPS-producing Escherichia-Shigella), was significantly higher in AD subjects, while the abundance of four short chain fatty acids (SCFA) producing-genera (Christensenellaceae R-7, Ruminococcaceae UCG-014; Akkermansia and [Eubacterium] eligens group) was significantly higher in controls. Notably, [Eubacterium] eligens group abundance was also significantly associated with higher HDL-C levels in RYGB patients one year after surgery. Although dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid/saturated fatty acid (PUFA/SFA) ratio and PUFA intake were higher in controls than in AD subjects, of the four genera differentiated in cases and controls, only Akkermansia abundance showed a positive and significant correlation with PUFA/SFA ratio. Our results suggest that SCFA-producing bacteria promote a healthy lipid homeostasis, while the presence of LPS-producing bacteria such Escherichia-Shigella may contribute to the development of atherogenic dyslipidemia.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; HDL-C; dyslipidemia; gut microbiota; triglycerides.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PUFA/SFA ratio and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD). (A) Median PUFA/SFA ratio in study groups. (B) Spearman correlation between HDL-C serum levels and PUFA/SFA ratio including the whole study population (Rho = 0.256; p = 0.023). (C) Spearman correlation between TG serum levels and PUFA/SFA ratio (Rho = −0.240; p = 0.033). PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; SFA, saturated fatty acids; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein -cholesterol; TG triglycerides. ** p < 0.005.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of gut microbiota diversity in atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) patients and controls. (A) Alpha diversity estimates: Observed OTUs, Chao1, Shannon and Simpson indices; the plotted data represent medians and interquartile ranges. (B) Beta diversity estimates; the plotted data represent the weighted (F-value= 2.298; R-value= 0.0289) and unweighted (F-value= 1.299; R-value= 0.017) UniFrac distances; p-value was obtained using a permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA). * p < 0.05; ** p < 005; ns, not significant.
Figure 3
Figure 3
LEfSe plot showing differentially abundant phyla (p), classes (c) and genera (g) between controls (green) and atherogenic dyslipidemia (AD) subjects (red). LDA score > 2.0 and p < 0.05 indicate statistically significant differences.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative abundance of differentiated genera (LDA score >3.5; p-value < 0.05) between AD individuals and controls. (A) Bacterial genera significantly more abundant in controls; (B) bacterial genera significantly more abundant in subjects with AD. * p < 0.05; ** p < 005.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Heatmap showing correlations of relative genera abundance with HDL-C, TG, PUFA/SFA ratio, and BMI. HDL-C, high density lipoprotein cholesterol; TG, triglycerides; PUFA, polyunsaturated fatty acids; SAF, saturated fatty acids and BMI, body mass index. * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.005.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Pathway enrichment analyses and functional categories in AD cases. Pathways and functional categories with LDA score > 2 and p < 0.05 are shown.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Heatmap of Spearman’s pairwise correlation coefficients between bacterial genera identified by LEfSe and lipid levels. Blue squares indicate negative correlations, and red squares indicate positive correlations. BMI, body mass index; HDL-C, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol; TG, triglycerides * p < 0.05.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Relative abundance of [Eubacterium] eligens group, [Eubacterium] xylanophilum group and Fusobacterium in patients with AD before and after bariatric surgery. * p < 0.05, ns; not significant.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brown T.M., Bittner V. Biomarkers of atherosclerosis: Clinical applications. Curr. Cardiol. Rep. 2008;10:497–504. doi: 10.1007/s11886-008-0078-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aday A.W., Everett B.M. Dyslipidemia Profiles in Patients with Peripheral Artery Disease. Curr. Cardiol. Rep. 2019;21:42. doi: 10.1007/s11886-019-1129-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Carroll M., Kit B., Lacher D. Trends in elevated triglyceride in adults: United States, 2001–2012. NCHS Data Brief. 2015;198:198. - PubMed
    1. Mahdy Ali K., Wonnerth A., Huber K., Wojta J. Cardiovascular disease risk reduction by raising HDL cholesterol--current therapies and future opportunities. Br. J. Pharmacol. 2012;167:1177–1194. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.02081.x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aguilar-Salinas C.A., Olaiz G., Valles V., Torres J.M., Gómez Pérez F.J., Rull J.A., Rojas R., Franco A., Sepulveda J. High prevalence of low HDL cholesterol concentrations and mixed hyperlipidemia in a Mexican nationwide survey. J. Lipid Res. 2001;42:1298–1307. doi: 10.1016/S0022-2275(20)31581-9. - DOI - PubMed