Immune activation and inflammation in lactating women on combination antiretroviral therapy: role of gut dysfunction and gut microbiota imbalanceOriginal 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 examined gut microbiota composition, gut inflammation, microbial translocation, and systemic inflammation in lactating women on combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in Harare, Zimbabwe.
How was it studied?
Seventy-seven lactating women, 35% HIV-infected, were followed at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. The team used 16S rRNA sequencing for gut microbiota, MesoScale Discovery assays for plasma cytokines, and ELISA for fecal calprotectin, plasma LBP, and sCD14.
What did they find?
Plasma sCD14 was significantly higher in HIV-infected women at both time points (p < 0.001), and fecal calprotectin was elevated in those with CD4+ counts below 350 cells/µL versus those at or above that threshold (158.1 vs 21.1 µg/g, p = 0.032). Beta diversity differed by HIV status, with Slackia and Collinsella more abundant and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 less abundant in HIV-infected women, and these taxa correlated with inflammatory biomarkers.
Why it matters
The findings link gut microbiota imbalance, intestinal inflammation, and microbial translocation to systemic immune activation in HIV-infected postpartum women, a population where this interplay could affect maternal and infant health.