Scientists Map Gut Microbiota Associated With Coronary Artery Disease

Nearly 20 cardinal group dice each twelvemonth from cardiovascular diseases, nan starring origin of decease worldwide. Genetic and biology factors power a person's consequence of illness and severity, but microbes apt besides play a captious role, peculiarly successful nan improvement of coronary artery illness (CAD). Recent studies propose nan gut microbiota contributes to nan progression of CAD done divers pathways, but nan circumstantial contributions of germs stay mostly unknown. 

But scientists are making headway. This week successful mSystems, researchers successful Seoul study connected gut microbes and mechanisms associated pinch CAD. "We've gone beyond identifying 'which germs unrecorded there' to uncovering what they really do successful nan heart-gut connection," said Han-Na Kim, Ph.D., a genomicist astatine nan Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology astatine Sungkyunkwan University successful Seoul, who led nan study. 

The researchers compared fecal samples from 14 group pinch CAD to samples from 28 patient group utilizing metagenomic sequencing, which reveals each nan DNA successful a sample and tin beryllium utilized to reconstruct nan genomes of individual microbes. Using this method of genomic reconstruction, Kim and her collaborators identified 15 bacterial type associated pinch CAD, arsenic good arsenic pathways that link nan gut microbes to illness progression. 

Notably, nan genome-level study besides suggested that strains of friends germs tin move harmful. Microbes usually categorized arsenic being beneficial to quality health, including Akkermansia muciniphila and F. prausnitzii, tin person different functional roles depending connected whether they came from patient aliases diseased guts, said Kim. 

The study besides revealed nan complexity of trying to link microbes to illness progression. Previous studies person recovered reduced levels of immoderate type of Lachnospiraceae connected to CAD, for example, but nan caller study recovered higher levels of different types. Lachnospiraceae, said Kim, "may beryllium nan Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of nan gut." Some type of nan germs are depleted successful group and others surge successful group pinch CAD. "The large unanswered mobility now is which strains are nan healers, and which are nan troublemakers."

The adjacent step, Kim said, is to merge these microbial signals pinch familial and metabolomic information to much precisely representation causal pathways successful bosom disease. Their larger extremity is to creation precision-based interventions that tin construe microbial accusation into devices and strategies for preventing cardiovascular disease. 

Prevention, Kim said, is nan astir promising frontier for reducing nan world load of bosom disease. Microbial therapies could help-shaping nan creation of stool-based screening, for example, aliases done nutritional interventions that reconstruct adjuvant germs aliases artifact harmful pathways. 

Source:

Journal reference:

Lee, S., et al. (2025). Metagenome-assembled genomes uncover microbial signatures and metabolic pathways linked to coronary artery disease. mSystems. DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00954-25. https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msystems.00954-25