Metagenomic and metabolomic analyses unveil dysbiosis of gut microbiota in chronic heart failure patients

Abstract

Previous studies suggested a possible gut microbiota dysbiosis in chronic heart failure (CHF). However, direct evidence was lacking. In this study, we investigated the composition and metabolic patterns of gut microbiota in CHF patients to provide direct evidence and comprehensive understanding of gut microbiota dysbiosis in CHF. We enrolled 53 CHF patients and 41 controls. Metagenomic analyses of faecal samples and metabolomic analyses of faecal and plasma samples were then performed. We found that the composition of gut microbiota in CHF was significantly different from controls. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii decrease and Ruminococcus gnavus increase were the essential characteristics in CHF patients’ gut microbiota. We also observed an imbalance of gut microbes involved in the metabolism of protective metabolites such as butyrate and harmful metabolites such as trimethylamine N-oxide in CHF patients. Metabolic features of both faecal and plasma samples from CHF patients also significantly changed. Moreover, alterations in faecal and plasma metabolic patterns correlated with gut microbiota dysbiosis in CHF. Taken together, we found that CHF was associated with distinct gut microbiota dysbiosis and pinpointed the specific core bacteria imbalance in CHF, along with correlations between changes in certain metabolites and gut microbes.