In a new study, researchers have identified a distinct group of gut bacteria that may contribute to and predict the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
The research was conducted by a team at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.
PAH is a chronic and progressive disease in which the arteries that supply blood to the lungs are constricted, resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath, heart palpitations, fatigue, and others.
In PAH, persistently high blood pressure in lung arteries makes the right side of the heart work too hard to pump blood, resulting in right-sided heart failure (inability of the heart to pump blood adequately).
It is much less common than systemic blood pressure, which represents the force of blood moving through blood vessels throughout the entire body.
Everyone has a collection of bacteria in their gut – known as the microbiota – that aid in digestion.
In the study, the researchers found that having a specific microbiota profile in their gut predicted the presence of PAH with 83% accuracy.
Stool samples were collected from 18 PAH patients and 12 people without a history of cardiopulmonary disease. The microbiota DNA from the stool samples were isolated and sequenced.
The testing revealed a group of bacteria unique in the PAH patients that were associated with PAH.
This is the first link between a specific collection of bacteria and pulmonary arterial hypertension. However, it is not the first time that gut bacteria have been connected to medical conditions.
A variety of different gut microbiota profiles have been linked to a variety of cardiovascular diseases including high blood pressure.
Gut microbiota is constantly changing, depending on what we eat, our environment and especially our genetic makeup.
However, the team says the bacteria associated with PAH are unique and do not seem to change.
If the results are validated in a larger study, the unique bacterial profile could help to diagnose PAH early, possibly replacing the invasive heart catheterization that is used today to diagnose the disease.
Also, new types of treatment focused on altering the gut microbiome of PAH patients could be developed, providing new hope for halting the progression of the disease.
Another important question to be researched is how gut bacteria impacts the lungs of PAH patients.
The lead author of the study is Mohan Raizada, Ph.D., a distinguished professor in the department of physiology and functional genomics.
The study is published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.
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