Chen Yihang, Chen Zhenzhen, Liang Lirong, Li Jifeng, Meng Liukun, Yuan Wen, Xie Boqia, Zhang Xun, Feng Lin, Jia Yanxiong, Fu Zhou, Su Pixiong, Tong Zhaohui, Zhong Jiuchang, Liu Xiaoyan
Medical Research Center, Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine and Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China; Heart Center and Beijing Key Laboratory of Hypertension, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100020, China.
Beijing Anzhen Hospital of Capital Medical University and Beijing Institute of Heart Lung and Blood Vessel Diseases, Beijing, 100029, China.
EBioMedicine. 2025 May;115:105686. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2025.105686. Epub 2025 Apr 11.
BACKGROUND: Gut microbiota dysbiosis has been implicated in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, the exact roles and underlying mechanisms of multi-kingdom gut microbiota, including bacteria, archaea, and fungi, in PAH remain largely unclear. METHODS: The shotgun metagenomics was used to analyse multi-kingdom gut microbial communities in patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH) and healthy controls. Furthermore, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) was performed to transfer gut microbiota from IPAH patients or monocrotaline (MCT)-PAH rats to normal rats and from normal rats to MCT-PAH rats. FINDINGS: Gut microbiota analysis revealed substantial alterations in the bacterial, archaeal, and fungal communities in patients with IPAH compared with healthy controls. Notably, FMT from IPAH patients or MCT-PAH rats induced PAH phenotypes in recipient rats. More intriguingly, FMT from normal rats to MCT-PAH rats significantly ameliorated PAH symptoms; restored gut bacteria, archaea, and fungi composition; and shifted the plasma metabolite profiles of MCT-PAH rats toward those of normal rats. In parallel, RNA-sequencing analysis demonstrated the expression of genes involved in key signalling pathways related to PAH. A panel of multi-kingdom markers exhibited superior diagnostic accuracy compared with single-kingdom panels for IPAH. INTERPRETATION: Our findings established an association between multi-kingdom gut microbiota dysbiosis and PAH, thereby indicating the therapeutic potential of FMT in PAH. More importantly, apart from gut bacteria, gut archaea and fungi were also significantly associated with PAH pathogenesis, highlighting their indispensable role in PAH. FUNDING: This work was supported by Noncommunicable Chronic Diseases-National Science and Technology Major Projects No. 2024ZD0531200, No. 2024ZD0531201 (Research on Prevention and Treatment of Cancer, Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases, Respiratory Diseases, and Metabolic Diseases), the National Natural Science Foundation of China of China (No. 82170302, 82370432), Financial Budgeting Project of Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine (Ysbz2025004, Ysbz2025007), National clinical key speciality construction project Cardiovascular Surgery, Reform and Development Program of Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine (Ggyfz202417, Ggyfz202501), Clinical Research Incubation Program of Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University (CYFH202209).
EBioMedicine. 2024-5
Nutrients. 2022-10-13
Hypertension. 2020-4
Int J Mol Sci. 2024-10-25
Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2023-3-15
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2025-8-11
EBioMedicine. 2024-5
J Agric Food Chem. 2024-5-1
Clin Cancer Res. 2024-2-16