Klatt Lab Researchers Chris Basting, PhD, and Ty Schroeder Published in Scientific Reports Journal
Klatt Lab Researchers Chris Basting, PhD, and Ty Schroeder recently had their study "Gut barrier integrity biomarkers are associated with increased inflammation and predict disease status in hospitalized COVID-19 patients," published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports.
Their research aims to identify blood biomarkers that characterize severe COVID-19 in patients who require hospitalization. The team focused specifically on markers of gut barrier damage, since gastrointestinal symptoms are common in COVID-19 and may play an underappreciated role in the disease's severity.
Their findings show clear evidence of gut barrier damage during COVID-19 infection, which appears to contribute to worsening inflammation throughout the body. The researchers also found that the immune system in hospitalized COVID-19 patients struggles to properly regulate the gut microbiome and maintain gut health. Combining markers of gut barrier damage with markers of overall inflammation produced a highly accurate model for predicting disease severity, indicating that both types of markers matter for understanding infection outcomes.
"This work highlights the gut's role in driving inflammation during severe COVID-19. If early treatments can help preserve or restore gut barrier integrity, that could potentially slow or prevent progression to severe disease, reducing hospitalizations and improving outcomes for patients," said Ty Schroeder.
Dr. Basting and Ty Schroeder are continuing to study the relationship between gut barrier damage and inflammation in Long COVID, as well as in other infectious diseases such as HIV. The way these markers relate to each other seems to differ from disease to disease, and understanding those differences may point to new opportunities for intervention.
Congratulations, Chris Basting, PhD, Ty Schroeder, and fellow Klatt Lab collaborators Ashma Chakrawarti, Courtney Broedlow, Robert Langat, PhD, Erik Swanson, PhD, Timothy Schacker, MD, Mark Osborn, PhD, and Nichole Klatt, PhD!
