# The role of the enteric microbiome in chronic HIV pathogenesis and cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected individuals

> **NIH NIH F30** · HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL · 2020 · $28,363

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Even with antiretroviral therapy, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-infected individuals still have a greater
mortality than uninfected individuals, mostly due to death from inflammation-related non-communicable
diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and kidney dysfunction. The drivers of this chronic
immune activation and associated CVD remain largely unknown. Recent studies have shown that there might
be significant HIV-associated disruptions in the gut microbial community, which is essential to human health
and is involved in many metabolic and immune interactions. Our preliminary data from Sub-Saharan African
populations, which bear a great burden of HIV and associated CVD, suggest that there are clear shifts in this
microbial community and that these correspond to increased measures of systemic inflammation. Independent
of HIV, changes in the gut microbial community have been shown to produce inflammatory metabolites that
cause macrophage and platelet activation, thrombosis, and arterial plaque formation. We propose to study
HIV-associated gut microbial changes in Sub-Saharan African populations and measure systemic immune
activation and cardiovascular outcomes associated with these changes. We will then use in vitro and in vivo
models to investigate the causative relationship between HIV-associated gut microbial community changes
and CVD. To accomplish this goal, we will expose gut cell models to HIV-associated microbes of interest and
measure the inflammatory response to these organisms. We will also transplant mouse models of
atherosclerosis with stool microbial communities and then quantify the development of CVD induced by these
communities. It is our hope that this work will identify mechanisms by which the gut microbial community might
contribute to CVD pathogenesis in chronic HIV and provide opportunities for therapeutic interventions to
extend lifespan and improve quality of life for HIV-infected individuals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9986868
- **Project number:** 5F30HL136257-04
- **Recipient organization:** HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL
- **Principal Investigator:** David Benjamin Gootenberg
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $28,363
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2021-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9986868

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9986868, The role of the enteric microbiome in chronic HIV pathogenesis and cardiovascular disease in HIV-infected individuals (5F30HL136257-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9986868. Licensed CC0.

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