Overview
- Researchers in Seoul analyzed fecal samples from 14 people with coronary artery disease and 28 healthy controls using high-resolution metagenomic genome reconstruction.
- The study identified 15 bacterial species associated with the disease, with seven significantly enriched in patients and eight significantly depleted.
- Functional profiling indicated a loss of short‑chain fatty acid producers such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and increased urea‑cycle activity connected to disease severity.
- Strain-level analyses suggested that typically beneficial taxa, including Akkermansia muciniphila and members of Lachnospiraceae, may play divergent roles depending on gut context.
- The findings are correlative and based on a small cohort, and the team plans larger multi‑omic studies toward potential stool-based screening and dietary interventions.