Cited by 1,478Gut microbiota and healthOral microbiology and periodontitis researchBlood Pressure and Hypertension Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 66 of the 67 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 35 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Gut Dysbiosis Is Linked to Hypertension

Open access

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests that gut microbiota is critical in the maintenance of physiological homeostasis. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that dysbiosis in gut microbiota is associated with hypertension because genetic, environmental, and dietary factors profoundly influence both gut microbiota and blood pressure. Bacterial DNA from fecal samples of 2 rat models of hypertension and a small cohort of patients was used for bacterial genomic analysis. We observed a significant decrease in microbial richness, diversity, and evenness in the spontaneously hypertensive rat, in addition to an increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. These changes were accompanied by decreases in acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria. In addition, the microbiota of a small cohort of human hypertensive patients was found to follow a similar dysbiotic pattern, as it was less rich and diverse than that of control subjects. Similar changes in gut microbiota were observed in the chronic angiotensin II infusion rat model, most notably decreased microbial richness and an increased Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. In this model, we evaluated the efficacy of oral minocycline in restoring gut microbiota. In addition to attenuating high blood pressure, minocycline was able to rebalance the dysbiotic hypertension gut microbiota by reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. These observations demonstrate that high blood pressure is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis, both in animal and human hypertension. They suggest that dietary intervention to correct gut microbiota could be an innovative nutritional therapeutic strategy for hypertension.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This study reports that hypertension is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis in two rat models and a small human cohort, characterized by reduced microbial richness/diversity and an increased Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. Oral minocycline lowered blood pressure in Ang II-infused rats and rebalanced several dysbiotic features of the gut microbiota.

Key findings

  • In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR; MAP 148 ± 10 mmHg) versus Wistar Kyoto controls (WKY; MAP 108 ± 2 mmHg), microbial richness, evenness, and diversity were decreased, and the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was ~5-fold higher.
  • SHR showed ~3-fold fewer acetate-producing and ~2-fold fewer butyrate-producing bacteria, with increased lactate-producing bacteria; Bifidobacterium was significantly depleted.
  • In a small human cohort, high-systolic-blood-pressure patients (144 ± 9 mmHg; n=7) had lower Chao richness and Shannon diversity than normal-SBP controls (119 ± 2 mmHg; n=10), with a non-significant trend toward lower Pielou evenness.
  • In chronic Ang II-infused rats, oral minocycline for 4 weeks lowered 24-hour MAP (124 ± 2 mmHg vs 168 ± 2 mmHg), reduced the elevated Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, increased Bacteroidetes, and expanded acetate- and butyrate-producing bacteria.

Methods

  • Fecal bacterial DNA from two rat hypertension models—SHR versus WKY and chronic Ang II infusion with/without oral minocycline—and from a small human cohort with normal versus high systolic blood pressure was analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing.
  • Microbial communities were assessed using Chao richness, Pielou evenness, Shannon diversity, weighted UniFrac distances with PCoA, phylum-level composition, and LEfSe at the genus level.
  • Animal procedures were approved by the University of Florida IACUC; human studies were approved by the University of Florida IRB.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the human cohort was small and that larger studies are needed; it also notes that plasma lactate was not measured, that some Ang II findings did not reach significance, and that whether dysbiosis precedes hypertension remains unknown.
  • The paper states that minocycline can cross the blood-brain barrier, so it cannot rule out whether its antihypertensive effect is primarily gut-mediated, brain-mediated, or linked.
  • Evident from the text: the human data are cross-sectional and associational, with only 17 total subjects, and the two control subjects within the HTN PCoA plot were under anti-hypertensive treatment with suboptimal medication/dosage, limiting causal and subgroup inference.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1161/hypertensionaha.115.05315

Cites

66 of 67 references verified0 citation errors · 1 not checkable

Statistics

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

48 Own result · 21 Not checked yet · 20 Own interpretation · 4 Own method

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  • It may state two separate claims as one. 22
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 13
31 of 31
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The chronic Ang II infusion rat model is a well-validated and established model of human hypertension.

    “For this purpose, we used the chronic Ang II infusion model, which is a well-validated and established model of HTN.”
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Metadata

Authors
Yang, T., Santisteban, M. M., Rodriguez, V., Li, E., Ahmari, N., Carvajal, J. M., Zadeh, M., Gong, M., Qi, Y., Zubcevic, J., Sahay, B., Pepine, C. J., Raizada, M. K., & Mohamadzadeh, M.
Affiliations
From the Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine (T.Y., M.Z., M.G., B.S., M.M.), Division of Gastroenterology, Hematology and Nutrition, Department of Medicine (T.Y., M.Z., M.G., B.S., M.M.), Department of Physiology and Functional Genomics (M.M.S., V.R., J.M.C., M.K.R.), College of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine (V.R., Y.Q., C.J.P.), Division of Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine, Department of Medicine (E.L.), and...
Corresponding author
  • Yang, Tao
  • Santisteban, Monica M.
Venue
Hypertension
Published
2015-06
Volume
65
Issue
6
Pages
1331-1340
ISSN
  • 0194-911X (ISSN-L)
  • 1524-4563
OpenAlex
W2136344314
Cited by
1,478
References
66
Citations by year
2026: 70 · 2025: 144 · 2024: 171 · 2023: 180 · 2022: 207 · 2021: 208 · 2020: 176 · 2019: 126 · 2018: 83 · 2017: 56 · 2016: 40 · 2015: 16
FWCI
28.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Hypertension (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • American Heart Association
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR001427, UL1TR000064)
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (HL33610, R01HL033610, UM1HL087366, R37HL033610)
  • National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (AI093370, R01AI093370)
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Gut microbiota and health
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Oral microbiology and periodontitis research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
Keywords
gut dysbiosis, gut microbiota, spontaneously hypertensive rats, angiotensin II infusion, Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio, microbial diversity, butyrate-producing bacteria, minocycline, dietary intervention, blood pressure regulation
MeSH terms
Animals, Disease Models, Animal, DNA, Bacterial, Feces, Humans, Hypertension, Minocycline, Random Allocation, Rats, Inbred SHR, Rats, Inbred WKY, Species Specificity, Cohort Studies, Comorbidity, Treatment Outcome, Risk Assessment, Gastrointestinal Tract, Rats, Microbiota, Dysbiosis

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