The gut microbiota is associated with clinical response to statin treatment in patients with coronary artery disease

Abstract Background The structure and composition of the gut microbiota influence patients’ response to therapeutic interventions. It is also known that the response to statin treatment can vary greatly from one patient to another, suggesting a possible connection between microbiome composition and response to statins. In the present study, we aim to explore the influence of the microbiome composition on the response to statin treatment among patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods A prospective cohort of 836 CAD patients enrolled from January 2016 to December 2017 was used to perform a nested case-control study. We divided 110 CAD patients into two groups according to their response to statins (good response group and poor response group) and compared their gut microbiota. Results Our analysis reveals no significant difference in microbiome between the two groups. However, significant differences were found in the relative proportion of numerous genera between GR and PR groups. Most remarkably, we could observe that a poor response to statin treatment correlates to a significant decrease in the abundance of beneficial bacteria for the lipid metabolism (Akkermansia muciniphila (A. muciniphila) and Lactobacillus) and a significant increase in the abundance of bacteria (Holdemanella and Facecallibacterium). Conclusions Gut microbiota structure is associated with the response to statin. Our results suggest that manipulation of the gut microbiota composition can be an interesting and effective treatment strategy to blood lipid control among CAD patients.