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 that undergo 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. Over 300 stool samples were collected and analyzed from 105 patients. Post-transplant samples had significantly less overall bacterial diversity compared to pre-transplant samples. Patients that underwent heart transplant during the study period had significant microbial compositional shifts early posttransplant. Furthermore, heart transplant patients with both early post-transplant rejection and later post-transplant rejection had specific microbial compositional changes compared to those without rejection. As this study is prospective in nature, there is still on-going long-term follow up of the patients from whom stool samples were collected.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1179184
Entities
People
- Joseph A. Spinner
- Sridevi Devaraj
Organizations
- Baylor College of Medicine