JCI Insight Publishes Chris Basting's, PhD, HIV Biomarkers Study

Klatt Lab researcher Chris Basting, PhD, recently had his study "Multi-omics links microbial dysbiosis, systemic inflammation, and metabolomic disruptions to SNAE risk in treated HIV," published in the peer-reviewed journal JCI Insight.

People with HIV continue to face greater health challenges than those without HIV, even when their infection is well-controlled with antiretroviral therapy. To better understand this, Dr. Basting's study aimed to identify the biological factors driving these ongoing health challenges and to propose potential strategies to address them. 

Through doing this work, Chris Basting, PhD, and team found that people with HIV who are at the highest risk for serious negative health outcomes have increased markers of systemic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and a loss of beneficial gut microbes. In particular, the bacterium Akkermansia muciniphila was associated with less inflammation, better immune criteria, and a less active HIV reservoir.

"Identifying biomarkers that characterize poor health outcomes in people with HIV could improve patient care by enabling earlier screening and guiding the development of new precision medicine therapies. In particular, a microbiome-based therapy that increases levels of Akkermansia muciniphila could serve as a valuable adjunct treatment by helping to reduce inflammation and improve long-term health outcomes," said Chris Basting, PhD.

Dr. Basting and team are currently investigating the specific mechanisms linking gut bacteria to HIV-associated inflammation, intending to develop a precision medicine and microbiome-based therapy that could improve outcomes for people with HIV on antiretroviral therapy.

Congratulations, Chris Basting, PhD, and fellow Klatt Lab collaborators Ty Schroeder, Erik Swanson, PhD, Melanie Graham, MPH, PhD, Timothy Schacker, MD, and Nichole Klatt, PhD!