Abstract

The Gut Microbiome and Symptom Burden After Kidney Transplantation: An Overview and Research Opportunities

Biol Res Nurs. 2024 Jun 5:10998004241256031. doi: 10.1177/10998004241256031.Online ahead of print.

 

Mark B Lockwood 1Choa Sung 2Suzanne A Alvernaz 3John R Lee 4Jennifer L Chin 5Mehdi Nayebpour 6Beatriz Peñalver Bernabé 3Lisa M Tussing-Humphreys 7Hongjin Li 1Mario Spaggiari 8Alessandro Martinino 8Chang G Park 9George E Chlipala 10Ardith Z Doorenbos 11Stefan J Green 12

 
     

Author information

1Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.

2Post-Doctoral Fellow, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, University of Illinois Chicago College of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.

3Graduate Student, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Illinois ChicagoColleges of Engineering and Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.

4Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

5Medical Student, Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Middletown, NY, USA.

6Virginia BioAnalytics LLC, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

7Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

8Division of Transplantation, Department of Surgery, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

9Department of Population Health Nursing Science, Office of Research Facilitation, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

10Research Core Facility, Research Resources Center, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

11Department of Biobehavioral Nursing Science, University of Illinois ChicagoCollege of Nursing, Chicago, IL, USA.

12Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.

Abstract

Many kidney transplant recipients continue to experience high symptom burden despite restoration of kidney function. High symptom burden is a significant driver of quality of life. In the post-transplant setting, high symptom burden has been linked to negative outcomes including medication non-adherence, allograft rejection, graft loss, and even mortality. Symbiotic bacteria (microbiota) in the human gastrointestinal tract critically interact with the immune, endocrine, and neurological systems to maintain homeostasis of the host. The gut microbiome has been proposed as an underlying mechanism mediating symptoms in several chronic medical conditions including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and psychoneurological disorders via the gut-brain-microbiota axis, a bidirectional signaling pathway between the enteric and central nervous system. Post-transplant exposure to antibiotics, antivirals, and immunosuppressant medications results in significant alterations in gut microbiota community composition and function, which in turn alter these commensal microorganisms' protective effects. This overview will discuss the current state of the science on the effects of the gut microbiome on symptom burden in kidney transplantation and future directions to guide this field of study.

© Copyright 2013-2024 GI Health Foundation. All rights reserved.
This site is maintained as an educational resource for US healthcare providers only. Use of this website is governed by the GIHF terms of use and privacy statement.