BBIBP-CorV Vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Affects the Gut Microbiome

Abstract

Several observational studies have confirmed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus2 (SARS-CoV-2) might substantially affect the gastrointestinal (GI) system by replicating in human small intestine enterocytes. Yet, so far, no study has reported the effects of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 virus vaccines on gut microbiota alterations. In this study, we examined the effects of the BBIBP-CorV vaccine (ChiCTR2000032459, sponsored by the Beijing Institute of Biological Products/Sinopharm), on gut microbiota. Fecal samples were collected from individuals whoreceived two doses of intramuscular injection of BBIBP-CorV and matched unvaccinated controls. DNA extracted from fecal samples was subjected to 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing analysis. The composition and biological functions of the microbiota between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals were compared. Compared with unvaccinated controls, vaccinated subjects exhibited significantly reduced bacterial diversity, elevated firmicutes/bacteroidetes (F/B) ratios, a tendency towards Faecalibacterium-predominant enterotypes, and altered gut microbial compositions and functional potentials. Specifically, the intestinal microbiota in vaccine recipients was enriched with Faecalibacterium and Mollicutes and with a lower abundance of Prevotella, Enterococcus, Leuconostocaceae, and Weissella. Microbial function prediction by phylogenetic investigation of communities using reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) analysis further indicated that Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways involved in carbohydrate metabolism and transcription were positively associated with vaccine inoculation, whereas capacities in neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancers were negatively affected by vaccines. Vaccine inoculation was particularly associated with gut microbiota alterations, as was demonstrated by the improved composition and functional capacities of gut microbiota.

Alterations in the gut microbiome and its metabolites are associated with the immune response to mucosal immunization with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum-displaying recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike epitopes in mice

“…However, several studies reported unaltered or diminished microbial diversity after vaccination, which is contradictory to our results ( Eloe-Fadrosh et al., 2013 ; Hagan et al., 2019 ; Tang et al., 2022 ). Herein, elevated microbial diversity may potentially be due to the increase in the population of rare taxa which are not typically abundant in the absence of an immune stimuli, as observed elsewhere ( Seekatz et al., 2013 ; Shen et al., 2023 ). IFN-elevated secretory IgA and systemic IgG could also increase the microbial diversity of the gut ( Zeng et al., 2016 ; Yang and Palm, 2020 ; Ishizaka et al., 2023 ), consistent with our results.…”

Alterations in microbiota of patients with COVID‐19: implications for therapeutic interventions

“…These findings suggest that vaccination alters the composition of microbiota and its metabolites in the gut. 129 The gut microbiota is associated with the vaccine response, which provides a basis for further exploring the regulation of the gut microbiota to improve vaccine efficacy. Newborns can obtain immune protection against SARS‐CoV‐2 through antibodies generated by the vaccine in breast milk, and vaccines can induce changes in the composition of the human breast milk microbiome, which may affect the antibody level.…”