Maternal and Child Health Division, Research Department, Sidra Medicine, 26999, Doha, Qatar.
J Transl Med. 2023 Jul 8;21(1):454. doi: 10.1186/s12967-023-04247-8.
The prevalence of hypertension in Qatar is 33 percent of the adult population. It is postulated that the salivary microbiome can regulate blood pressure (BP). However, limited investigations exist to prove this hypothesis. Therefore, we examined the difference in the salivary microbiome composition between hypertensive and normotensive Qatari subjects.
A total of 1190 Qatar Genome Project (QGP) participants (Mean age = 43 years) were included in this study. BP for all participants was classified into Normal (n = 357), Stage1 (n = 336), and Stage2: (n = 161) according to the American Heart Association guidelines. 16S-rRNA libraries were sequenced and analyzed using QIIME-pipeline, and PICRUST was used to predict functional metabolic routes. Machine Learning (ML) strategies were applied to identify salivary microbiome-based predictors of hypertension.
Differential abundant analysis (DAA) revealed that Bacteroides and Atopobium were the significant members of the hypertensive groups. Alpha and beta diversity indices indicated dysbiosis between the normotensive and hypertensive groups. ML-based prediction models revealed that these markers could predict hypertension with an AUC (Area under the curve) of 0.89. Functional predictive analysis disclosed that Cysteine and Methionine metabolism and the sulphur metabolic pathways involving the renin-angiotensin system were significantly higher in the normotensive group. Therefore, members of Bacteroides and Atopobium can serve as predictors of hypertension. Likewise, Prevotella, Neisseria, and Haemophilus can be the protectors that regulate BP via nitric acid synthesis and regulation of the renin-angiotensin system.
It is one of the first studies to assess salivary microbiome and hypertension as disease models in a large cohort of the Qatari population. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and validate the mechanisms involved.
在卡塔尔，成年人中高血压的患病率为 33%。有人假设唾液微生物组可以调节血压（BP）。然而，目前还没有足够的研究来证明这一假说。因此，我们研究了高血压和血压正常的卡塔尔受试者之间唾液微生物组组成的差异。
本研究共纳入了 1190 名卡塔尔基因组计划（QGP）参与者（平均年龄为 43 岁）。根据美国心脏协会的指南，将所有参与者的血压分为正常（n=357）、1 期（n=336）和 2 期（n=161）。使用 QIIME 管道对 16S-rRNA 文库进行测序和分析，并使用 PICRUST 预测功能代谢途径。应用机器学习（ML）策略识别基于唾液微生物组的高血压预测因子。
差异丰度分析（DAA）显示，拟杆菌属和阿托波氏菌属是高血压组的显著成员。α和β多样性指数表明，正常血压组和高血压组之间存在菌群失调。基于 ML 的预测模型显示，这些标志物可以以 0.89 的 AUC（曲线下面积）预测高血压。功能预测分析显示，正常血压组的半胱氨酸和蛋氨酸代谢以及涉及肾素-血管紧张素系统的硫代谢途径明显更高。因此，拟杆菌属和阿托波氏菌属的成员可以作为高血压的预测因子。同样，普雷沃氏菌属、奈瑟菌属和嗜血菌属可以通过合成一氧化氮和调节肾素-血管紧张素系统来调节血压，起到保护作用。
这是评估唾液微生物组和高血压作为卡塔尔人群大型队列中疾病模型的首批研究之一。需要进一步的研究来证实这些发现并验证所涉及的机制。
