Changes in the gut microbiota due to COVID-19

Abstract

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as the biological agent causing the COVID-19 disease, a disease that has kept the world in an almost two-year pandemic to this day. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 belong to a diversity group of viruses capable of infecting to animals and humans. The most common symptoms of the infection are fever, dry cough, and fatigue. On the other hand, some patients have reported other less common symptoms related to intestinal symptoms as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The intestinal microbiota is a complex dynamic system made up of bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa, and archaea that together inhabits the intestinal tract of some mammalians including man. This set of microorganisms can be altered due to changes in diet, antibiotics, and some viral diseases such as the influenza virus. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 and changes in the intestinal microbiota of infected patients, as well as the development of severe and non-severe disease related to the intestinal microbiota. The results indicate alterations in the intestinal microbiota due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, where the levels of symbiotic microorganisms are reduced, and the levels of opportunistic pathogenic species are increased. Among the mechanisms associated with these changes on the intestinal microbiota is the damage to the integrity of the enterocytes due to viral infection. Those patients who did not develop severe disease were associated with richness and diversity of the gut microbiota. On the other hand, those patients who developed severe disease due to COVID-19 were associated with opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms present in the gut microbiota.