Salivary markers and coronavirus disease 2019: insights from cross-talk between the oral microbiome and pulmonary and systemic low-grade inflammation and implications for vascular complications

• Published in: Cardiovascular endocrinology & metabolism 2021-09, Vol.10 (3), p.162-167
• Main Authors: AbdelMassih, Antoine, Hassan, Alaa A., Abou-Zeid, Aya S., Hassan, Aya, Hussein, Engy, Gadalla, Mahenar, Hussein, Mahinour, Eid, Maryam A., Elahmady, Maryam, El Nahhas, Nadine, Emad, Nadine, Zahra, Nihal, Aboushadi, Nour, Ibrahim, Nourhan, Mokhtar, Sherouk, Ismail, Habiba-Allah, El-Husseiny, Nadine, Moharam, Reham Khaled, Menshawey, Esraa, Menshawey, Rahma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Review
• ISSN: 2574-0954; 2574-0954
• DOI: 10.1097/XCE.0000000000000242

To date, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has affected over 6.2 million individuals worldwide, including 1.46 million deaths. COVID-19 complications are mainly induced by low-grade inflammation-causing vascular degeneration. There is an increasing body of evidence that suggests that oral dysbiotic taxa are associated with worse prognosis in COVID-19 patients, especially the Prevotella genus, which was retrieved from nasopharyngeal and bronchoalveolar lavage samples in affected patients. Oral dysbiosis may act by increasing the likelihood of vascular complications through low-grade inflammation, as well as impairing respiratory mucosal barrier mechanisms against SARS-CoV-2. Salivary markers can be used to reflect this oral dysbiosis and its subsequent damaging effects on and the lungs and vasculature. Salivary sampling can be self-collected, and is less costly and less invasive, and thus may be a superior option to serum markers in risk stratification of COVID-19 patients. Prospective studies are needed to confirm such hypothesis. Video Abstracthttp://links.lww.com/CAEN/A28