The role of intestinal microbiota and its recovery in COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Today, during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, when there are no clear therapeutic strategies for prevention and treatment, attention should be paid to alternative treatments, which may include the use of bacteriotherapeutic drugs based on probiotic microorganisms, i.e. representatives of the host normobiota. Experimental data show that changes in immune balance in patients with SARS-CoV-2 may be mediated by corresponding changes in the host intestinal microbiota. This statement is especially significant for the elderly, whose intestinal biota is less diverse. Especially the number of useful representative's decreases, which leads to greater sensitivity of the older generation to SARS-CoV-2. The composition and function of the intestinal microbiota may be a potential biological mechanism responsible for the diversity of susceptibility of different groups of people to SARS-CoV-2. A bidirectional connection along the intestinelung axis due to soluble microbial metabolites transported by the bloodstream is shown. The intestinal microbiota produces many diffusing metabolites with immunomodulatory properties. Given the potential beneficial effects of bacteriotherapeutic drugs and functional foods enriched with probiotic microbiota during respiratory viral infection, their use as therapeutic agents during SARS-CoV-2 infection can be considered. Since the microbiota can be maintained using adequate, safe, and relatively inexpensive bacteriotherapeutic drugs (pro-, pre-, para-, post-, synbiotics, immunobiotics, functional foods enriched with probiotic microorganisms, etc.), their use should be considered as adjunctive therapy to limit SARS-CoV-2 progression in infected patients or as a prophylactic strategy for uninfected people at risk during the expansion of SARS-CoV-2.