# Gut microbiota-mediated fiber fermentation in HIV-associated cardiovascular disease

> **NIH NIH DP1** · CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $551,000

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT:
 While antiretroviral therapy has significantly increased lifespan of people with HIV (PWH),
heightened rates of cardiovascular comorbidities continue to occur in this population as compared to
HIV-seronegative individuals. The mechanistic basis of this elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD)
risk in PWH remains poorly understood and constitutes a barrier to devising effective treatments.
Hypertension increases CVD risk and recent work has uncovered a role for gut microbial metabolism
in modulating hypertension. The gut microbiota is significantly altered in antiretroviral-treated PWH,
and the most robustly observed change in the HIV-associated gut microbiota is a depletion of
microbes capable of metabolizing dietary fiber into short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Prior work from
outside the realm of HIV research suggests a depletion of SCFAs can cause increased blood
pressure and consequently increase cardiovascular disease incidence. Whether the loss of gut
microbial SCFA producers in PWH contributes to elevated cardiovascular disease risk remains an
important but unexplored question. Through this Catalyst Award, I will test the impact of the HIV-
associated gut microbiota on bioavailable SCFA production and investigate effects of fiber
fermentation on hypertension and manifestations of cardiovascular disease using a combination of
murine gnotobiotic and specific pathogen-free models, omics technologies, and computational
biology. Mechanisms of host SCFA uptake and utilization as well as methods to augment SCFA
production within the HIV-associated microbiota will be explored to identify pathways that can be
targeted to alleviate hypertension in PWH. This high-risk series of studies have potential to elucidate
mechanisms of CVD risk in PWH and identify microbiota-directed therapeutic modalities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915883
- **Project number:** 1DP1HL174182-01
- **Recipient organization:** CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Ivan Vujkovic-Cvijin
- **Activity code:** DP1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $551,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-04-15 → 2029-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915883

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915883, Gut microbiota-mediated fiber fermentation in HIV-associated cardiovascular disease (1DP1HL174182-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915883. Licensed CC0.

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