Microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles link intestinal dysbiosis to neuroimmune activation in long COVID
Post COVID-19 condition (Long COVID, LC) is frequently accompanied by persistent neurological symptoms, but the mechanisms linking intestinal dysbiosis to neuroinflammation remain unclear.
Here we identify gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles (GMEVs) as functional mediators linking LC-associated dysbiosis to systemic and neuroimmune inflammation. In a longitudinally characterized cohort, individuals with LC and neurological symptoms exhibit a persistent intestinal microbiome signature.
Transplantation of LC-associated microbiota into germ-free mice induces intestinal barrier disruption and neuroinflammatory phenotypes. GMEVs from individuals with LC activate inflammasome-associated programs and impair epithelial barrier function, promote inflammatory responses in macrophages, and induce coordinated pro-inflammatory transcriptional programs in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia. Chronic oral administration of LC-derived GMEVs remodels the microbiota and induces intestinal and systemic inflammation with glial activation in vivo.
Together, these findings support a vesicle-centered framework in which microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles translate dysbiosis into sustained immune and neuroimmune activation in a post-viral inflammatory state.
Web | DOI | PDF | Preprint: BioRxiv | Open Access
Matheus Aranguren; Kim Doyon-Laliberte; Idia Boncheva; Alexandre Villard; Alehandra Desjardins; Emma Darbinian; Suhani Patel; Charlotte DuSablon; Estefania Rivera Conde; Diana Cabrera Munoz; Ludhovik Purchase; Valerio Ec Piscopo; Aeshah Alluli; Faiza Benaliouad; Julien Sirois; Thomas Durcan; Chantal Masse; Kodjovi Dodji Mlaga; Prabha Chandrasekaran; Johanne Poudrier; Emilia Liana Falcone
Post COVID-19 condition (Long COVID, LC) is frequently accompanied by persistent neurological symptoms, but the mechanisms linking intestinal dysbiosis to neuroinflammation remain unclear.
Here we identify gut microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles (GMEVs) as functional mediators linking LC-associated dysbiosis to systemic and neuroimmune inflammation. In a longitudinally characterized cohort, individuals with LC and neurological symptoms exhibit a persistent intestinal microbiome signature.
Transplantation of LC-associated microbiota into germ-free mice induces intestinal barrier disruption and neuroinflammatory phenotypes. GMEVs from individuals with LC activate inflammasome-associated programs and impair epithelial barrier function, promote inflammatory responses in macrophages, and induce coordinated pro-inflammatory transcriptional programs in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia. Chronic oral administration of LC-derived GMEVs remodels the microbiota and induces intestinal and systemic inflammation with glial activation in vivo.
Together, these findings support a vesicle-centered framework in which microbiota-derived extracellular vesicles translate dysbiosis into sustained immune and neuroimmune activation in a post-viral inflammatory state.
Web | DOI | PDF | Preprint: BioRxiv | Open Access