{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,8]],"date-time":"2026-04-08T01:07:00Z","timestamp":1775610420607,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,2]],"date-time":"2024-05-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1714608000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan","award":["BR10965164"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BR10965164"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Recent studies highlight the crucial role of the gut microbiome in post-infectious complications, especially in patients recovering from severe COVID-19. Our research aimed to explore the connection between gut microbiome changes and the cytokine profile of patients with post-COVID syndrome. Using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, we analyzed the composition of the gut microbiome in 60 COVID-19 patients over the course of one year. We also measured the levels of serum cytokines and chemokines using the Milliplex system. Our results showed that severe SARS-CoV-2 infection cases, especially those complicated by pneumonia, induce a pro-inflammatory microbial milieu with heightened presence of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, and Prevotella_9. Furthermore, we found that post-COVID syndrome is characterized by a cross-correlation of various cytokines and chemokines MDC, IL-1b, Fractalkine, TNFa, FGF-2, EGF, IL-1RA, IFN-a2, IL-10, sCD40L, IL-8, Eotaxin, IL-12p40, and MIP-1b as well as a shift in the gut microbiome towards a pro-inflammatory profile. At the functional level, our analysis revealed associations with post-COVID-19 in homolactic fermentation, pentose phosphate, NAD salvage, and flavin biosynthesis. These findings highlight the intricate interplay between the gut microbiota, their metabolites, and systemic cytokines in shaping post-COVID symptoms. Unraveling the gut microbiome\u2019s role in post-infectious complications opens avenues for new treatments for those patients with prolonged symptoms.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v16050722","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,2]],"date-time":"2024-05-02T07:04:14Z","timestamp":1714633454000},"page":"722","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["Gut Microbiome and Cytokine Profiles in Post-COVID Syndrome"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7440-4014","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Karakoz","family":"Mussabay","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Virology Named after Sh.I.Sarbasova, Astana Medical University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9668-0327","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Samat","family":"Kozhakhmetov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2395-6032","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marat","family":"Dusmagambetov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Virology Named after Sh.I.Sarbasova, Astana Medical University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aitolkyn","family":"Mynzhanova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Astana Medical University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Madiyar","family":"Nurgaziyev","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Zharkyn","family":"Jarmukhanov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-1845-2726","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elizaveta","family":"Vinogradova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aigul","family":"Dusmagambetova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Virology Named after Sh.I.Sarbasova, Astana Medical University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Aiganym","family":"Daulbaeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Astana Medical University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Chulenbayeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ainur","family":"Tauekelova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Cardiac Surgery Center, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Makhabbat","family":"Bekbossynova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Research Cardiac Surgery Center, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9479-0899","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Almagul","family":"Kushugulova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Microbiome, Center for Life Sciences, National Laboratory Astana, Nazarbayev University, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,5,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hirayama, M., Nishiwaki, H., Hamaguchi, T., Ito, M., Ueyama, J., Maeda, T., Kashihara, K., Tsuboi, Y., and Ohno, K. 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