title: Role of the Gut Microbiome in Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Induced Hypertension.
abstract: Individuals suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are at increased risk for systemic hypertension. The importance of a healthy gut microbiota, and detriment of a dysbiotic microbiota, on host physiology is becoming increasingly evident. We tested the hypothesis that gut dysbiosis contributes to hypertension observed with OSA. OSA was modeled in rats by inflating a tracheal balloon during the sleep cycle (10-s inflations, 60 per hour). On normal chow diet, OSA had no effect on blood pressure; however, in rats fed a high-fat diet, blood pressure increased 24 and 29 mm Hg after 7 and 14 days of OSA, respectively (P<0.05 each). Bacterial community characterization was performed on fecal pellets isolated before and after 14 days of OSA in chow and high-fat fed rats. High-fat diet and OSA led to significant alterations of the gut microbiota, including decreases in bacterial taxa known to produce the short chain fatty acid butyrate (P<0.05). Finally, transplant of dysbiotic cecal contents from hypertensive OSA rats on high-fat diet into OSA recipient rats on normal chow diet (shown to be normotensive) resulted in hypertension similar to that of the donor (increased 14 and 32 mm Hg after 7 and 14 days of OSA, respectively; P<0.05). These studies demonstrate a causal relationship between gut dysbiosis and hypertension, and suggest that manipulation of the microbiota may be a viable treatment for OSA-induced, and possibly other forms of, hypertension.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.). durgan@bcm.edu.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Durgan
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Bhanu P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Ganesh
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Julia L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cope
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Nadim J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Ajami
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Sharon C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Petrosino
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Emily B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Hollister
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of Anesthesiology (D.J.D., S.C.P., R.M.B.), Pathology and Immunology (B.P.G., J.L.C., E.B.H.), Molecular Physiology and Biophysics (R.M.B.), The Alkek Center for Metagenomics and Microbiome Research, Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology (N.J.A., J.F.P.), and Texas Children's Microbiome Center, Department of Pathology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.); and Department of Medicine, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston (J.L.C., E.B.H.).
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Bryan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D064806:Dysbiosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000502:physiology*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000150:complications* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: butyrates; dysbiosis; hypertension; microbiota; obstructive sleep apnea