Impact of the gut and upper respiratory tract microbiota on the course of COVID-19 and the proinflammatory immune response (A05)

• Subject Area: Parasitology and Biology of Tropical Infectious Disease Pathogens
• Term: from 2014 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 114933180

The clinical course of COVID-19 can be mild or severe, with many patients developing pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and some are dying. In this study, we will test the hypotheses (I) that the patient´s upper respiratory tract and gut microbiota are influencing the course of diseases, and vice versa (II) that COVID-19 influences the microbiota. We are therefore longitudinally collecting upper respiratory tract and gut samples as well as urine and blood from hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Upper respiratory and intestinal tract microbiota will be analyzed by shotgun metagenome sequencing, microbiota-derived metabolites in plasma and urine will be measured by metabolomics, and production of inflammatory cytokine will be assessed by multiplex ELISA and RNAseq. The results combined with data on viral loads will be analyzed together to characterize how the microbiota and COVID-19 reciprocally influence each other.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 84: Innate Immunity of the Lung: Mechanisms of Pathogen Attack and Host Defence in Pneumonia
• Applicant Institution: shared FU Berlin and HU Berlin through:; Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
• Project Heads: Dr. Catherine Chaput, until 6/2018; Professor Dr. Markus M. Heimesaat; Professor Dr. Bastian Opitz