Scientists in South Korea have uncovered new evidence that gut microbes could influence the development of coronary artery disease, one of the world’s leading causes of death.
The research, published in the journal mSystems by the Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology at Sungkyunkwan University, sheds new light on how intestinal bacteria may interact with the cardiovascular system.
‘We’ve moved beyond identifying which bacteria live in the gut – now we’re discovering what they actually do in the heart-gut connection,’ said Dr Han-Na Kim, a genomics expert who led the study.
Nearly 20 million people die from cardiovascular diseases each year. While genetics, diet and lifestyle are known risk factors, scientists are increasingly convinced that the gut microbiome – the trillions of microorganisms living in our intestines – also plays a major role.
The Korean team compared faecal samples from 14 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) to those of 28 healthy volunteers, analysing all the DNA using metagenomic sequencing.
This allowed them to identify 15 bacterial species associated with the disease and to trace the metabolic pathways linking gut microbes to its progression.
Loss of ‘protective’ bacteria
The researchers found a ‘drastic functional shift’ in the gut ecosystems of heart disease patients, marked by a loss of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria – such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii – known to have anti-inflammatory properties.
At the same time, they saw overactivation of metabolic routes, including the urea cycle, that appear tied to inflammation and disease severity.
Surprisingly, the data also suggested that beneficial bacteria can turn harmful depending on the host’s condition.
Species typically considered healthy, like Akkermansia muciniphila and F. prausnitzii, may behave differently in sick guts than in healthy ones.
‘Even the same bacteria can act as friend or foe depending on the environment,’ said Kim, describing the Lachnospiraceae family as ‘the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde of the intestine.’
The researchers plan to integrate microbial, genetic and metabolic data to pinpoint causal links between gut activity and heart disease. The ultimate goal is to design precision therapies – including nutrition-based interventions – that could restore beneficial bacteria or block harmful ones.
‘Prevention is the most promising frontier in reducing the global burden of heart disease,’ Kim concluded. ‘Microbial therapies may soon help us detect and prevent it before it starts.’
