The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has released research suggesting that Gut bacteria are different in people infected with HIV compared to those that are not.
This is one of the conclusions of a study published in the journal EBioMedicine, which suggests that the gut microbiome may contribute to the risk of HIV infection.
The study was led by Dr. Jennifer Fulcer, an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA in the division of infectious diseases.
The doctor said that “This is an important area that requires more research to better understand if these bacteria could affect the transmission of HIV and how it is transmitted.
He added that based on this observation, new microbiome-based therapieswhich are a new trend in research with great potential.
Fulcher said that for this study they analyzed data from 27 men who have sex with men before and after they became infected with HIVThey then compared these samples with 28 men who had a similar behavioral risk of infection, but who did not have HIV.
Data were extracted from the NIDA Collaborative Cohort Generating Opportunity Consortium. They found that during the first year after infection there were no significant changes in gut bacteria, but they found that men who had contracted HIV had pre-existing differences in gut bacteriaeven before they became infected, compared to their uninfected counterparts.
The changes occurred in the levels of Bacteroides species that were reduced. This group of bacteria are found in the lower intestinal tract and have important metabolic roles in maintaining a healthy gut environment, and elevated levels of Megasphaera elsdenii, including a role in the human gut that is not yet known, compared to risk controls not infected.
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The researchers also found that before infection, the men who contracted HIV had elevated inflammatory cytokines and bioactive lipids, both associated with systemic inflammation, indicating that their bodies were constantly on defense against infection or injury, compared with men. paired controls.
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