A Review of the Effect of Intestinal Bacteria on COVID-19 Severity Via Bacteria-Induced Immunomodulatory Pathways and an Analysis of the Efficacy of Microbiome Therapies as a Treatment.
Date
4-10-2021
Location
Online
Description
The human intestinal microbiome is known to play a major role in the regulation of immunological activity, the enhancement of digestive processes, and the production of important metabolites and vitamins. Recent research has found links between the intestinal bacterial microbiome and diseases with varied symptomologies, including Alzheimer’s diseases, Ulcerative Colitis, and viral diseases, including tentative links to COVID-19. My work reviews known immunomodulatory effects of bacteria within the intestinal microbiome, elucidates the role these effects play on the course of COVID-19 infection, and examines possible treatment methods for COVID-19 infection via microbiome therapies. This paper defines and describes two bacteria-mediated pathways that are likely to affect COVID-19 infection via immunomodulation, involving butyrate production by F. prausnitzii and tryptophan hydrolysis by Alistipes spp. Noting that levels of Faecalibacterium and Alistipes species drastically decrease during infection with COVID-19, this paper identifies therapies related to regrowth of Alistipes and Faecalibacterium species in the intestinal microbiome, under the hypothesis that increased levels of these bacteria reduces severity of COVID-19 infection, possibly speeding up post-infection recovery. This paper calls for further research into possible mechanisms of immunomodulation through butyrate production and tryptophan hydrolysis, and how levels of butyrate and melatonin are impacted during COVID-19 infection.
Presentation Type
Presentation
A Review of the Effect of Intestinal Bacteria on COVID-19 Severity Via Bacteria-Induced Immunomodulatory Pathways and an Analysis of the Efficacy of Microbiome Therapies as a Treatment.
Online
The human intestinal microbiome is known to play a major role in the regulation of immunological activity, the enhancement of digestive processes, and the production of important metabolites and vitamins. Recent research has found links between the intestinal bacterial microbiome and diseases with varied symptomologies, including Alzheimer’s diseases, Ulcerative Colitis, and viral diseases, including tentative links to COVID-19. My work reviews known immunomodulatory effects of bacteria within the intestinal microbiome, elucidates the role these effects play on the course of COVID-19 infection, and examines possible treatment methods for COVID-19 infection via microbiome therapies. This paper defines and describes two bacteria-mediated pathways that are likely to affect COVID-19 infection via immunomodulation, involving butyrate production by F. prausnitzii and tryptophan hydrolysis by Alistipes spp. Noting that levels of Faecalibacterium and Alistipes species drastically decrease during infection with COVID-19, this paper identifies therapies related to regrowth of Alistipes and Faecalibacterium species in the intestinal microbiome, under the hypothesis that increased levels of these bacteria reduces severity of COVID-19 infection, possibly speeding up post-infection recovery. This paper calls for further research into possible mechanisms of immunomodulation through butyrate production and tryptophan hydrolysis, and how levels of butyrate and melatonin are impacted during COVID-19 infection.