Archives of microbiologyOct 8, 2025

Microbial and metabolic differences linked to ischemic stroke in gut and mouth bacteria

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Mar 29, 2026

Abstract

A total of 57 individuals, including 32 ischemic stroke patients, were analyzed for microbial and metabolic changes.

Ischemic stroke patients showed higher levels of periodontal pathogens in their oral cavity compared to controls.
There was significant overlap of bacterial genera between the oral and gut microbiomes in ischemic stroke patients, indicating potential mutual transfer.
Patients exhibited increased diversity and dysbiosis in gut microbiota, with a notable deficiency of short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria.
Metabolomic analysis indicated decreased levels of butyrate and increased levels of specific amino acids in ischemic stroke patients.
These metabolic changes correlated with the observed microbial shifts, suggesting a link between and stroke pathogenesis.

Simplified

Dysbiosis of oral and gut microbiota may influence ischemic stroke (IS) pathogenesis through immune and metabolic mechanisms. This study investigated microbial translocation between oral and gut niches and its functional metabolic impact in IS patients. A total of 57 individuals were analyzed, including 25 controls (FC/KC) and 32 IS patients (FS/KS). Samples were obtained from the gut and oral subgingival plaque. The microbiome analysis was performed using the PacBio platform 16 S rRNA full-length gene sequencing, while non-targeted metabolomics was used to assess intestinal metabolites. The oral cavity of IS patients harbored abundant periodontal pathogens, including Porphyromonas and Fusobacterium. Bacterial genera (such as Streptococcus, Neisseria, Ligilactobacillus, Leptotrichia, Blautia, Veillonella, and Capnocytophaga) significantly overlapped between the oral and gut niches in IS patients, suggesting mutual transfer. IS patients exhibited increased diversity and dysbiosis in their gut microbiota, characterized by a deficiency of (SCFA)-producing bacteria (Bacteroides and Faecalibacterium), and an enrichment of opportunistic pathogens (Streptococcus and Ligilactobacillus). Metabolomic analysis revealed concomitant disturbances in microbial metabolism, marked by decreased SCFAs (butyrate) and increased levels of specific amino acids (L-tryptophan). These metabolic changes were correlated with the microbial shifts. IS is associated with distinct dysbiosis in both the oral and gut ecosystems, which are interconnected through bacterial translocation. The metabolic disruption may link to stroke pathogenesis through the oral-gut axis.

Key numbers

10,763

Shared

Number of shared in IS patients

590

Decreased metabolites

Number of metabolites decreased in IS patients

550

Increased metabolites

Number of metabolites increased in IS patients

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Funding

Competing interests

Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical approval: This is an observational study. This project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the First Hospital of Lanzhou University (LDYYLL2022-513). Consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study. Consent for publication: Not applicable.

PubMed

Microbial and metabolic differences linked to ischemic stroke in gut and mouth bacteria

Abstract

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Competing interests

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