Association between gut microbiota and prediabetes in people living with HIVOriginal paper
Karen Pendergrass is a microbiome researcher specializing in microbiome-targeted interventions (MBTIs). She systematically analyzes scientific literature to identify microbial patterns, develop hypotheses, and validate interventions. As the founder of the Microbiome Signatures Database, she bridges microbiome research with clinical practice. In 2012, based on her own investigative research, she became the first documented case of FMT for Celiac Disease, four years before the first published case study.
Read MoreWhat was studied?
This cross-sectional study examined the association between gut microbiota composition and prediabetes in people living with HIV (PLWH). All participants were receiving antiretroviral therapy and had an undetectable plasma viral load. Fecal samples were collected and gut microbiome profiles were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing to compare bacterial diversity and taxa abundance between prediabetic and normoglycemic participants.
Who was studied?
The study enrolled 40 people living with HIV, all on antiretroviral therapy with undetectable viral loads. Of these, 20 participants had prediabetes and 20 were normoglycemic, allowing a direct comparison between the two metabolic states within an HIV-positive population. No further demographic details are given in the abstract.
What were the most important findings?
Alpha-diversity of gut microbiota was significantly lower in PLWH with prediabetes compared to those with normoglycemia, and beta-diversity also differed significantly between the two groups. Two Firmicutes genera, Streptococcus and Anaerostignum, were significantly more abundant in the prediabetes group. In contrast, 13 genera, including Akkermansia and Christensenellaceae R7 group, were significantly more abundant in the normoglycemic group. The abstract does not mention Desulfovibrio, sulfate-reducing bacteria, hydrogen sulfide, or sulfur metabolism.
What are the greatest implications of this study?
The findings suggest that reduced gut microbiota diversity and a distinct compositional shift, marked by higher Streptococcus and Anaerostignum and lower Akkermansia and Christensenellaceae, may accompany prediabetes in people living with HIV. This points to gut dysbiosis as a potential feature of glucose dysregulation even when HIV is well controlled with undetectable viral load. These 15 bacterial taxa could serve as candidate markers for further investigation into microbiome-related metabolic risk in this population.