Composition, Function, and Role of the Intestinal Microbiome in Pediatric Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation
Abstract
The role of the intestinal microbiome has gained substantial interest as a novel marker for prognosis of disease and as a potential target for therapeutic intervention. There is evidence that the microbiome exerts a fundamental influence on immunity, can be altered in heart failure, and can be further disrupted by immunosuppressive medications. This indicates the potential significant impact that alterations to the intestinal microbiome may play in the care of children who have undergone heart transplant. The composition, function, and role of the intestinal microbiome in children with congenital heart disease or heart transplant is not currently known. The main objective of this research is to characterize and investigate the role of the intestinal microbiome in this population and generate the preliminary data necessary to determine effect estimates that will be used to power large prospective randomized studies of targeted microbial restoration. Patient recruitment and stool collection is still ongoing. Preliminary analyses indicate that there are significant microbial compositional shifts after patients undergo heart transplant. Furthermore, heart transplant patients with post-transplant complications have a significantly different microbial composition compared to those without complications. As this study is prospective in nature, there is still on-going follow up and stool collection and analysis to determine associations between specific microbial changes and specific post-transplant complications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1152331
Entities
People
- Joseph A. Spinner
Organizations
- Baylor College of Medicine