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Host genetics and gut microbiota composition: Baseline gut microbiota composition as a possible prognostic factor for the severity of COVID-19 in patients with familial Mediterranean fever disease

Tsaturyan, Vardan·Manvelyan, Anahit·Balayan, Marine·Harutyunyan, Natalya·Pepoyan, Elya·Torok, Tamas·Chikindas, Michael·Pepoyan, Astghik
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Abstract

It is known that the gut microbiome of a healthy person affects the process of COVID-19 after getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is also believed that colchicine can alleviate the severity of COVID-19. Current investigations aimed to evaluate the associations between the baseline gut microbiota composition of healthy and Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) - carrier Armenian men populations, and the severity of the COVID-19 disease after their infection with the SARS-CoV-2. The study has a purpose of answering three core questions: i. Do the characteristics of gut microbiome of Armenians affect the course of COVID-19 severity? ii. How does the COVID-19 disease course on go for FMF patients who have been taking colchicine as a medication over the years after getting infected with SARS-CoV-2? iii. Is there an initial gut micribiota structure pattern for non-FMF and FMF patients in the cases when COVID-19 appears in mild form? The gut microbiota composition in non-FMF and FMF patients before the first infection (mild and moderate course of COVID-19) was considered. COVID-19 was diagnosed by SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid RT-PCR in nasopharyngeal swab and/or sputum. The number of patients with male FMF with mild COVID-19 was approximately two times higher than that of non-FMF male subjects with COVID-19. In addition, an association of COVID-19 disease severity with the baseline gut Prevotella, Clostridium hiranonis, Eubacterium biforme, Veillonellaceae, Coprococcus, and Blautia diversities in the non-FMF and FMF populations were revealed by us, which can be used as risk/prognostic factor for the severity of COVID-19.

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60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCESCOVID-19disease severity analysisfamilial Mediterranean fever diseasegendergut microbiota

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Tsaturyan, Vardan, Manvelyan, Anahit, Balayan, Marine, Harutyunyan, Natalya, Pepoyan, Elya, Torok, Tamas, Chikindas, Michael, Pepoyan, Astghik. 2023-03-30. Host genetics and gut microbiota composition: Baseline gut microbiota composition as a possible prognostic factor for the severity of COVID-19 in patients with familial Mediterranean fever disease. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1107485

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