Impact of Gut Microbiome on Hypertensive Patients With Low-Salt Intake: Shika Study Results

Satoshi Nagase; Shigehiro Karashima; Hiromasa Tsujiguchi; Hirohito Tsuboi; Sakae Miyagi; Mitsuhiro Kometani; Daisuke Aono; Takuya Higashitani; Masashi Demura; Hiroyuki Sakakibara; Akihiro Yoshida; Akinori Hara; Hiroyuki Nakamura; Yoshiyu Takeda; Hidetaka Nambo; Takashi Yoneda; Shigefumi Okamoto

doi:10.3389/fmed.2020.00475

Impact of Gut Microbiome on Hypertensive Patients With Low-Salt Intake: Shika Study Results

Front Med (Lausanne). 2020 Sep 2:7:475. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2020.00475. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Satoshi Nagase¹, Shigehiro Karashima², Hiromasa Tsujiguchi³, Hirohito Tsuboi⁴, Sakae Miyagi³, Mitsuhiro Kometani², Daisuke Aono², Takuya Higashitani², Masashi Demura⁵, Hiroyuki Sakakibara⁶, Akihiro Yoshida⁷, Akinori Hara³, Hiroyuki Nakamura³, Yoshiyu Takeda², Hidetaka Nambo⁸, Takashi Yoneda^{2

9}, Shigefumi Okamoto¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
² Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kanazawa University Hospital, Kanazawa, Japan.
³ Department of Environmental and Preventive Medicine, Advanced Preventive Medical Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁴ Division of Psychosomatic Medicine, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical, and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁵ Department of Hygiene, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁶ Graduate School of Agriculture, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan.
⁷ Department of Oral Microbiology, Matsumoto Dental University Graduate School of Oral Medicine, Shiojiri, Japan.
⁸ School of Electrical, Information, and Communication Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan.
⁹ Department of Health Promotion and Medicine of the Future, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa, Japan.

Abstract

Salt intake is one of the most important environmental factors impacting hypertension onset. Meanwhile, the potential roles of the gut microbiome (GM) in altering the health status of hosts have drawn considerable attention. Here, we aimed to perform an observational study to investigate the impact of intestinal bacterial flora in hypertensive patients with low-salt or high-salt intake. A total of 239 participants were enrolled, and their gut microbiomes, clinical and demographic details, as well as physiological parameters pertaining to the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and inflammatory cytokine profiles, were examined. The participants were classified into four groups based on the presence of different enterotype bacteria, as determined via cluster analysis, and salt intake: low salt/GM enterotype 1, low salt/GM enterotype 2, high salt/GM enterotype 1, and high salt/GM enterotype 2. Results show that the prevalence of hypertension was significantly lower in the low-salt/GM enterotype 2 group (27%) compared to the low salt/GM enterotype 1 group (47%; p = 0.04). Alternatively, no significant differences were observed in hypertension prevalence between the two high-salt intake groups (GM enterotype 1 = 50%, GM enterotype 2 = 47%; p = 0.83). Furthermore, The low-salt/GM enterotype 2 was higher in the relative abundances of Blautia, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia-Shigella, Lachnoclostridium, and Clostridium sensu stricto than the low-salt/GM enterotype 1. differed significantly between the GM enterotypes. These results suggested that consumption of a low-salt diet was ineffective in regulating hypertension in individuals with a specific gut bacteria composition. Our findings support the restoration of GM homeostasis as a new strategy for controlling blood pressure and preventing the development of hypertension.

Keywords: blood pressure; gut microbiome; hypertension; renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system; salt-intake.