• APC research leads international COVID-19 study that “adds another piece to the jigsaw puzzle that is COVID-19 research”
  • Interactions between the microbiota, metabolism and immune system influence COVID-19 severity and fatal outcomes

A large international study of hospitalised COVID-19 patients suggesting that the outcome to SARS-CoV-2 infection depends in part on the types of interactions occurring between the patients’ microbiota, metabolism and immune system has been published by APC Microbiome Ireland, SFI Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC).

In this well-controlled study of 172 hospitalised COVID-19 patients (from Cork, and Geneva, St. Gallen and Ticino in Switzerland), APC scientists demonstrated that hyperinflammatory responses and metabolic dysfunction were exaggerated in patients with a specific type of microbiota, and these patients were less likely to survive infection with SARS-CoV-2.The research findings could mean that high-risk patients could be identified earlier through microbiome profiling, and could be afforded greater protection from severe COVID-19 symptoms by boosting their immune system with appropriately selected probiotics and/or prebiotics.

The paper ‘A high-risk gut microbiota configuration associates with fatal hyperinflammatory immune and metabolic responses to SARS-CoV-2’ is published in the journal Gut Microbes and is co-lead-authored by APC Principal Investigators Liam O’Mahony and Paul O’Toole, both Professors in UCC. The research was supported by the SFI COVID-19 Rapid Response Research and Innovation Funding.

Prof Liam O’Mahony APC PI and Professor of Immunology at UCC says “This study further demonstrates that the microbes within us are intimately connected with immune and metabolic health. We now need to investigate how to positively influence these connections before a person becomes infected to help reduce risk of severe outcomes to infection.”

Prof Paul O’Toole APC PI and Head of Microbiology at UCC says “This study adds another piece to the jigsaw puzzle that is COVID-19 research and the results have provided us with a range of defined targets for interventions.”

Prof Paul Ross “APC received support for several projects under the SFI COVID-19 Rapid Response Research and Innovation Funding call and it is brilliant to see that this research has delivered such valuable and tangible scientific results which associate the composition of  the gut microbiota to outcomes for  patients infected with  COVID-19.”

Prof John Cryan, Vice President for Research & Innovation at UCC says “This study has great significance in the progress to provide solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vital work is taking place at APC laboratories here in UCC and it’s making a real difference to understanding how to overcome SARS-CoV-2.”

General Director of Science Foundation Ireland, Prof Philip Nolan, welcomed the findings, saying: “This research, undertaken by the APC Microbiome Ireland SFI Research Centre, provides new learnings into COVID-19 and demonstrates the continued important role of research in addressing the pandemic. SFI is proud to support excellent research that has the potential to sustain and further people’s health and wellbeing, while contributing to finding innovative solutions to this ongoing global challenge.”

This paper is available as an Open Access article, A high-risk gut microbiota configuration associates with fatal hyperinflammatory immune and metabolic responses to SARS-CoV-2, published in Gut Microbes, Volume 14 Issue 1, and is now available to access via tandfonline.com.