For a study, it was determined that many HIV-positive people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) had persistent systemic inflammation, linked to increased morbidity and mortality. The gut bacterial microbiota of ART-treated people showed significant compositional changes, and the degree of dysbiosis correlates with systemic inflammation. It’s unclear whether microbiome-modification therapy could reduce systemic inflammation. Asymptomatic HIV-infected ART-suppressed people received an open-label fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) without antibiotic pretreatment via colonoscopy. The engraftment of donor microorganisms in the stool was measured before and after FMT, and immune activation indicators were measured in the peripheral blood. 6 people received FMT, while two others served as controls. During the 24-week follow-up period, no significant side effects were observed. HIV-infected people had microbiome profiles different from uninfected donors at the start of the process. Recipients showed partial engraftment of the donor microbiota at the 8 weeks following FMT (P<0.05). In contrast to what was determined after FMT for C. difficile infection treatment, the microbiota of recipients remained considerably separated from that of donors. Systemic inflammatory indicators did not change significantly after FMT. FMT was well tolerated in HIV-positive people who were on antiretroviral therapy. Engraftment was detected, but it was little, and it looked to be restricted to a few bacterial species. It must be determined whether antibiotic conditioning can improve engraftment and the microbiota’s ability to moderate inflammation.

 

Link:www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19490976.2017.1334034

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