Host gut resistome in Gulf War chronic multisymptom illness correlates with persistent inflammation
Abstract
Chronic multisymptom illness (CMI) affects a subsection of elderly and war Veterans and is associated with systemic inflammation. Here, using a mouse model of CMI and a group of Gulf War (GW) Veterans’ with CMI we show the presence of an altered host resistome. Results show that antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are significantly altered in the CMI group in both mice and GW Veterans when compared to control. Fecal samples from GW Veterans with persistent CMI show a significant increase of resistance to a wide class of antibiotics and exhibited an array of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) distinct from normal healthy controls. The altered resistome and gene signature is correlated with mouse serum IL-6 levels. Altered resistome in mice also is correlated strongly with intestinal inflammation, decreased synaptic plasticity, reversible with fecal microbiota transplant (FMT). The results reported might help in understanding the risks to treating hospital acquired infections in this population.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 07, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1038/s42003-022-03494-7
Entities
People
- Alan W. Decho
- Ayan Mondal
- Dipro Bose
- Ethan Older
- Jeffrey M. Carlson
- Jie Li
- Kimberly Sullivan
- Nancy G. Klimas
- Patricia Janulewicz
- Punnag Saha
- Ratanesh K Seth
- Saurabh Chatterjee
- Somdatta Chatterjee
- Stephen Lasley
Organizations
- Division of Biological Infrastructure
- United States Department of Defense
- United States Department of Veterans Affairs