Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34139173›Full record

ArticleCell host & microbe2021

Gut microbes impact stroke severity via the trimethylamine N-oxide pathway.

Weifei Zhu, Kymberleigh A Romano, Lin Li, Jennifer A Buffa, Naseer Sangwan, Prem Prakash, Aaron N Tittle, Xinmin S Li, Xiaoming Fu, Charlie Androjna and 8 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cell host & microbe, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 93 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
93citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
8.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

93 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 148 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Plasma Trimethylamine-Journal of the American Heart Association · 2023
    Trial
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Lipid metabolism, microglia, and stroke.Neural regeneration research · 2026
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Association between the newly introduced Diet Index for Gut Microbiota (DI-GM) and stroke prevalence: potential indirect associations via phenotypic age and body mass index (BMI).Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2026
    Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Raman signatures ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2026
    Article
  18. Article
  19. Metabolomics of cerebrospinal fluid following traumatic brain injury: Exploration of biomarkers for secondary injuries and severity.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
    Article
  20. The gut-brain axis: mechanisms linking intestinal dysbiosis with stroke.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026
    Review

33 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Weifei ZhuDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Electronic address: zhuw@ccf.org.
Kymberleigh A RomanoDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Lin LiDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Jennifer A BuffaDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Naseer SangwanDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Prem PrakashDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Aaron N TittleDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Xinmin S LiDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Xiaoming FuDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Charlie AndrojnaDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Anthony J DiDonatoDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Kimberly BrinsonDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Bruce D TrappDepartment of Neurosciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Michael A FischbachDepartment of Bioengineering and ChEM-H, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Federico E ReyDepartment of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Adeline M HajjarDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Joseph A DiDonatoDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA.
Stanley L HazenDepartment of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA; Cardiovascular Medicine, Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. Electronic address: hazens@ccf.org.
Cleveland Clinic · USStanford University · USUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison · US

Funding

Project 3: Microbiota generated aryl sulfates and secondary bile acids in cardiometabolic diseaseP01HL147823 · NHLBI · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · PI MICHAEL ANDREW FISCHBACH · 2019 to 2026
$17.0M
Gut Flora Metabolism of Dietary Phosphatidylcholine and CVDR01HL103866 · NHLBI · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · PI HAZEN, STANLEY L · 2010 to 2023
$10.8M
Gut Microbiota and Cerebral Vascular DiseaseR01HL150537 · NHLBI · CLEVELAND CLINIC LERNER COM-CWRU · PI ZHU, WEIFEI · 2020 to 2023
$2.2M
CWRU- Cardiovascular Research Training ProgramT32HL134622 · NHLBI · CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY · PI JAIN, MUKESH KUMAR, PROWELLER, AARON · 2017 to 2021
$1.9M
NHLBI NIH HHS P01 HL147823NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL103866NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL150537NHLBI NIH HHS T32 HL134622
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Clinical studies have demonstrated associations between circulating levels of the gut-microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and stroke incident risk. However, a causal role of gut microbes in stroke has not yet been demonstrated. Herein we show that gut microbes, through dietary choline and TMAO generation, directly impact cerebral infarct size and adverse outcomes following stroke. Fecal microbial transplantation from low- versus high-TMAO-producing human subjects into germ-free mice shows that both TMAO generation and stroke severity are transmissible traits. Furthermore, employing multiple murine stroke models and transplantation of defined microbial communities with genetically engineered human commensals into germ-free mice, we demonstrate that the microbial cutC gene (an enzymatic source of choline-to-TMA transformation) is sufficient to transmit TMA/TMAO production, heighten cerebral infarct size, and lead to functional impairment. We thus reveal that gut microbiota in general, specifically the metaorganismal TMAO pathway, directly contributes to stroke severity.

Indexed as

Gastrointestinal MicrobiomeAnimalsBacteriaCholineFemaleHumansMaleMethylaminesMiceMice, Inbred C57BLOxidesSeverity of Illness IndexStrokeCholineMethylaminesOxidestrimethyloxaminecerebral vascular diseasesCholineCutCfecal microbial transplantationgnotobiotic micegut microbiotametabolismpreclinical models of strokeTMAOtrimethylamine-N-oxideWestern diet

Identifiers

PMID34139173
PMCPMC8288076
OpenAlexW3171404117

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.