Background The relationship of microbiota composition dynamics and the progression of subclinical atherosclerosis in people with HIV (PWH) remains unknown. Methods 96-week, prospective, longitudinal study in virologically-suppressed PWH. Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) measurements and stool samples were obtained at baseline, 48-week and 96-week visits. cIMT progression was defined as an increase >10% and/or detection of new carotid plaque. To profile the gut microbiome, amplification and sequencing of 16S ribosomal-RNA (V3-V4 variable regions) were carried out following the Illumina protocol. Sequencing was performed with MiSeq platform. Results 191, 190 and 167 patients had available fecal samples for microbiome analysis at the baseline, 48- and 96-week visits, respectively. 87 (43%) participants showed atherosclerosis progression, and 54 (26.7%) presented new carotid plaque. No significant differences were observed in adjusted α-diversity indices between groups defined by cIMT progression. Beta-diversity determined through principal coordinate analysis distances showed that the groups exhibited distinct microbial profiles (PERMANOVA p-value = 0.03). Longitudinal analysis with ANCOM-BC2 adjusted for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, MSM and nadir CD4 count revealed that cIMT progression was consistently associated with Agathobacter and Ruminococcus_2, while non-progression was consistently associated with Prevotella_7. Conclusion Progression of atherosclerosis in PWH might be associated with distinctive signatures in the gut microbiota.

中文翻译：

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与艾滋病毒感染者动脉粥样硬化进展相关的独特肠道微生物群特征

背景 HIV 感染者 (PWH) 微生物群组成动态与亚临床动脉粥样硬化进展的关系仍不清楚。方法 对病毒学抑制的 PWH 进行为期 96 周的前瞻性纵向研究。在基线、48 周和 96 周访视时获取颈动脉内膜中层厚度 (cIMT) 测量值和粪便样本。 cIMT进展被定义为增加＞10％和/或检测到新的颈动脉斑块。为了分析肠道微生物组，按照 Illumina 方案对 16S 核糖体-RNA（V3-V4 可变区）进行扩增和测序。使用 MiSeq 平台进行测序。结果 分别有 191、190 和 167 名患者在基线、48 周和 96 周就诊时拥有可用于微生物组分析的粪便样本。 87 名（43%）参与者出现动脉粥样硬化进展，54 名（26.7%）参与者出现新的颈动脉斑块。由 cIMT 进展定义的组之间调整后的 α 多样性指数没有观察到显着差异。通过主坐标分析距离确定的 Beta 多样性表明，这些群体表现出不同的微生物特征（PERMANOVA p 值 = 0.03）。使用 ANCOM-BC2 调整传统心血管危险因素、MSM 和最低 CD4 计数的纵向分析显示，cIMT 进展始终与 Agathobacter 和瘤胃球菌_2 相关，而非进展始终与 Prevotella_7 相关。结论 孕妇动脉粥样硬化的进展可能与肠道微生物群的独特特征有关。