Abstract
SummaryChanges in the human gut microbiome are associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, but the role of the gut virome in both diseases remains largely unknown. We characterized the gut dsDNA virome of 28 school-aged children with healthy normal-weight (NW, n = 10), obesity (O, n = 10), and obesity with metabolic syndrome (OMS, n = 8), using metagenomic sequencing of virus-like particles (VLPs) from fecal samples. The virome classification confirmed the bacteriophages' dominance, mainly composed of Caudovirales. Notably, phage richness and diversity of individuals with O and OMS tended to increase, while the VLP abundance remained the same among all groups. Of the 4,611 phage contigs composing the phageome, 48 contigs were highly prevalent in ≥80% of individuals, suggesting high inter-individual phage diversity. The abundance of several contigs correlated with gut bacterial taxa; and with anthropometric and biochemical parameters altered in O and OMS. To our knowledge, this gut phageome represents one of the largest datasets and suggests disease-specific phage alterations.
Highlights
Childhood obesity (O) is one of the most relevant and severe health problems worldwide; it is a significant risk factor for severe infections, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems later in life
Changes in the human gut microbiome are associated with obesity and metabolic syndrome, but the role of the gut virome in both diseases remains largely unknown
The number of virus-like particles (VLPs) is similar between normal weight, obesity and obesity with metabolic syndrome groups We used 28 fecal samples previously collected from 7- to 10-year-old 10 healthy NW children, 10 children with O, and eight children with OMS, paired by gender and age (Table S1) and similar middle socioeconomic background (Gallardo-Becerra et al, 2020) (Table S2)
Summary
Childhood obesity (O) is one of the most relevant and severe health problems worldwide; it is a significant risk factor for severe infections, diabetes, and cardiovascular problems later in life. It is the leading cause of adult O, representing a substantial risk for premature death (Biro and Wien, 2010). It is considered a complex disease characterized by abnormal fat accumulation due to an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure (Romieu et al, 2017) that involves genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Its prevalence has to lead to an increased incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D) (DiBonaventura et al, 2018) and the development of cardiovascular disease (Franks et al, 2010) in adults
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