Oral Microbiota Alterations in Subjects with SARS-CoV-2 Displaying Prevalence of the Opportunistic Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 7; p. 1356
• Main Authors: Alfaifi, Areej A, Holm, Johanna B, Wang, Tristan W, Lim, Jonathan, Meiller, Timothy F, Rock, Peter, Sultan, Ahmed S, Jabra-Rizk, Mary Ann
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 02-07-2024
• Subjects: Bacteria; Candida; Candida albicans; Candidiasis; COVID-19; Exocrine glands; Fungi; Health risks; Hospitalization; Infections; Inflammation; Lavage; Metagenomics; microbiome; Microbiomes; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Opportunist infection; oral; Oral cavity; Pathogens; Regression analysis; Salivary gland; Salivary glands; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Taxonomy; Viral diseases; United States > US; COVID-19; Candida albicans; SARS-CoV-2; oral; microbiome
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12071356

The oral cavity remains an underappreciated site for SARS-CoV-2 infection despite the myriad of oral conditions in COVID-19 patients. Recently, SARS-CoV-2 was shown to replicate in the salivary gland cells causing tissue inflammation. Given the established association between inflammation and microbiome disruption, we comparatively profiled oral microbial differences at a metagenomic level in a cohort of hospitalized COVID-19 patients and matched healthy controls. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate colonization by the opportunistic fungal pathogen
, the etiologic agent of oral candidiasis. Comprehensive shotgun metagenomic analysis indicated that, overall, COVID-19 patients exhibited significantly reduced bacterial and viral diversity/richness; we identified 12 differentially abundant bacterial species to be negatively associated with COVID-19, and the functional pathways of certain bacteria to be highly associated with COVID-19 status. Strikingly,
was recovered from approximately half of the COVID-19 subjects but not from any of the healthy controls. The prevalence of
is likely linked to immune hypo-dysregulation caused by COVID-19 favoring
proliferation, warranting investigations into the interplay between
and SARS-CoV2 and potential therapeutic approaches directed toward oral candidiasis. Collectively, our findings prompt a reassessment of oral opportunistic infection risks during COVID-19 disease and their potential long-term impacts on oral health.