The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing disease severity and progression. Emerging research indicates that the human microbiota, particularly beneficial bacteria, significantly impacts immune responses and health outcomes in COVID-1...
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| author | Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto Clarissa Reginato Taufer Juliana da Silva |
| author_facet | Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto Clarissa Reginato Taufer Juliana da Silva |
| author_sort | Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto |
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| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing disease severity and progression. Emerging research indicates that the human microbiota, particularly beneficial bacteria, significantly impacts immune responses and health outcomes in COVID-19 patients. While existing studies provide general insights into the relationship between the microbiota and probiotics with COVID-19, they often lack a detailed exploration of how specific bacterial taxa might be used as adjunctive treatments. This review aims to address this gap by focusing on ten key genera of beneficial bacteria, discussing their roles in COVID-19 and evaluating their potential as probiotics for prevention and treatment. The review covers the impact of these microbes on human health, their population alterations in COVID-19 patients, and their interactions with other viral infections. Among these microbes, several exhibit distinct patterns of abundance in COVID-19 patients, influencing disease outcomes and highlighting their potential roles in infection dynamics. In COVID-19 patients, populations of <i>Akkermansia</i>, <i>Ruminococcus</i>, and <i>Roseburia</i> are consistently reduced, while those of <i>Faecalibacterium</i> show a significant decline in more severe cases. <i>Bacteroides</i> presents varying effects depending on the species involved. Alterations in the abundance of <i>Blautia</i> and Lachnospiraceae are associated with increased inflammation and disease severity. Likewise, the depletion of <i>Lachnospira</i> and <i>Coprococcus</i> populations, both linked to anti-inflammatory effects, may exacerbate symptom severity. Oscillospira, though less studied, is connected to overall health and could have implications for viral infections. This review synthesizes the current understanding of these beneficial microbes to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy microbiota to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 and contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies involving microbiota modulation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a6fe53a64e99473181a4f0b6f8c34606 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-a6fe53a64e99473181a4f0b6f8c346062025-08-20T02:33:51ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-04-01135102910.3390/microorganisms13051029The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial GeneraPabulo Henrique Rampelotto0Clarissa Reginato Taufer1Juliana da Silva2Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core Facility, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, BrazilGraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, BrazilGraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, BrazilThe COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing disease severity and progression. Emerging research indicates that the human microbiota, particularly beneficial bacteria, significantly impacts immune responses and health outcomes in COVID-19 patients. While existing studies provide general insights into the relationship between the microbiota and probiotics with COVID-19, they often lack a detailed exploration of how specific bacterial taxa might be used as adjunctive treatments. This review aims to address this gap by focusing on ten key genera of beneficial bacteria, discussing their roles in COVID-19 and evaluating their potential as probiotics for prevention and treatment. The review covers the impact of these microbes on human health, their population alterations in COVID-19 patients, and their interactions with other viral infections. Among these microbes, several exhibit distinct patterns of abundance in COVID-19 patients, influencing disease outcomes and highlighting their potential roles in infection dynamics. In COVID-19 patients, populations of <i>Akkermansia</i>, <i>Ruminococcus</i>, and <i>Roseburia</i> are consistently reduced, while those of <i>Faecalibacterium</i> show a significant decline in more severe cases. <i>Bacteroides</i> presents varying effects depending on the species involved. Alterations in the abundance of <i>Blautia</i> and Lachnospiraceae are associated with increased inflammation and disease severity. Likewise, the depletion of <i>Lachnospira</i> and <i>Coprococcus</i> populations, both linked to anti-inflammatory effects, may exacerbate symptom severity. Oscillospira, though less studied, is connected to overall health and could have implications for viral infections. This review synthesizes the current understanding of these beneficial microbes to highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy microbiota to alleviate the impact of COVID-19 and contribute to the development of novel therapeutic strategies involving microbiota modulation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/5/1029probiotics<i>Akkermansia</i><i>Bacteroides</i><i>Faecalibacterium</i>dysbiosisimmune modulation |
| spellingShingle | Pabulo Henrique Rampelotto Clarissa Reginato Taufer Juliana da Silva The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera Microorganisms probiotics <i>Akkermansia</i> <i>Bacteroides</i> <i>Faecalibacterium</i> dysbiosis immune modulation |
| title | The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera |
| title_full | The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera |
| title_short | The Role of Beneficial Microbiota in COVID-19: Insights from Key Bacterial Genera |
| title_sort | role of beneficial microbiota in covid 19 insights from key bacterial genera |
| topic | probiotics <i>Akkermansia</i> <i>Bacteroides</i> <i>Faecalibacterium</i> dysbiosis immune modulation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/5/1029 |
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