ArticleMicroorganisms2024
An Analysis of the Gut Microbiota and Related Metabolites following PCSK9 Inhibition in Statin-Treated Patients with Elevated Levels of Lipoprotein(a).
Article in Microorganisms, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 7 citations in OpenAlex.
- Hypocholesterolemic agents and the gut microbiota: a review of interactions and modulatory activity.Pharmacological reports : PR · 2026Review
- Intervening at the microbial crossroads: targeting inflammation across the oral-gut-reproductive microbiome crosstalk in atherosclerosis.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2026Review
- Intervening at the microbial crossroads: targeting inflammation across the oral-gut-reproductive microbiome crosstalk in atherosclerosis.Antonie van Leeuwenhoek · 2026Review
- Beyond conventional therapies: Gut microbiota modulation and macromolecular drugs in the battle against cardiometabolic diseases.Journal of pharmaceutical analysis · 2026Review
- Trained immunity in atherosclerosis: plasticity, metabolic-vascular axis, and AI-driven precision remodeling.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Understanding the Relationship Between Cerebrovascular Disease and the Gut Microbiome.Stroke (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Review
- A two-sample Mendelian randomization study reveals the causal effects of statin medication on gut microbiota abundance in the European population.Frontiers in genetics · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAtherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a leading cause of global mortality, often associated with high blood levels of LDL cholesterol (LDL-c). Medications like statins and PCSK9 inhibitors, are used to manage LDL-c levels and reduce ASCVD risk. Recent findings connect the gut microbiota and its metabolites to ASCVD development. We showed that statins modulate the gut microbiota including the production of microbial metabolites involved in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and bile acids (BAs). Whether this pleiotropic effect of statins is associated with their antimicrobial properties or it is secondary to the modulation of cholesterol metabolism in the host is unknown. In this observational study, we evaluated whether alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor administered subcutaneously, alters the stool-associated microbiota and the profiles of SCFAs and BAs.
methodsWe used stool and plasma collected from patients enrolled in a single-sequence study using alirocumab. Microbial DNA was extracted from stool, and the bacterial component of the gut microbiota profiled following an amplicon sequencing strategy targeting the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. Bile acids and SCFAs were profiled and quantified in stool and plasma using mass spectrometry.
resultsTreatment with alirocumab did not alter bacterial alpha (Shannon index,
conclusionIn statin-treated patients, the use of alirocumab to inhibit PCSK9 leads to elevated levels of fecal BAs without altering the bacterial population of the gut microbiota. The association of alirocumab with increased fecal BA concentration suggests an additional mechanism for the cholesterol-lowering effect of PCSK9 inhibition.
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