Distinct blood and oral microbiome profiles reveal altered microbial composition and functional pathways in myocardial infarction patientsOriginal 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?
Researchers compared blood and oral (saliva) microbiome profiles in 10 myocardial infarction patients and 10 healthy controls, testing whether the blood microbiome simply reflects oral bacteria translocation.
How was it studied?
Paired blood and saliva samples from all 20 participants were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, comparing diversity, taxonomic composition, and predicted functional (KEGG) pathways between groups and sample types.
What did they find?
Blood had significantly greater alpha diversity than saliva, though beta diversity was similar. In MI patients, blood showed higher Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, and genus Bacteroides, with lower Proteobacteria; LEfSe identified Actinobacteria as enriched in MI blood versus Enterobacterales in controls. Oral microbiota showed no distinct MI-associated taxa, but healthy controls had enriched Rothia, Micrococcaceae, and Micrococcales; both compartments showed distinct KEGG functional pathways and correlations with clinical markers.
Why it matters
The findings suggest the blood microbiome is a distinct microbial niche with its own disease-associated signature, not merely a passive reflection of oral bacterial translocation, pointing to a possible active role in myocardial infarction pathology.