Gut Prevotella copri abundance linked to elevated post-exercise inflammation.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the linkage between gut microbiome taxa and exercise-induced inflammation.

Methods: Twenty-five cyclists provided 4 stool samples during a 10-week period and cycled vigorously for 2.25 h at 67% maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) in a laboratory setting. Blood samples were collected pre- and post-exercise, with additional samples collected at 1.5 h-, 3 h-, and 24 h-post-exercise. Primary outcomes included stool microbiome composition and alpha diversity via whole genome shotgun (WGS) sequencing (averaged from 4 stool samples) and a targeted panel of 75 plasma oxylipins. A total of 5719 taxa were identified, and the 339 that were present in more than 20% of stool samples were used in the analysis. Alpha diversity was calculated by evenness, and the Analysis of Composition of Microbiomes (ANCOM) differential abundance analysis was performed using QIIME2. A composite variable was calculated from 8 pro-inflammatory oxylipins generated from arachidonic acid (ARA) and cytochrome P-450 (CYP).

Results: ARA-CYP oxylipins were significantly elevated for at least 3 h post-exercise (p < 0.001); they were strongly and positively related to Prevotella copri (P. copri) abundance (R² = 0.676, p < 0.001) and negatively related to gut microbiome alpha diversity (R² = 0.771, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: This analysis revealed for the first time a novel, positive relationship between gut microbiome P. copri abundance in cyclists and post-exercise pro-inflammatory oxylipins. These data demonstrate that about two-thirds of the wide variance in inflammation following prolonged and intensive exercise is largely explained by the abundance of a single gut bacterial species: P. copri.