Association of Prevotella enterotype with polysomnographic data in obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome patients

Intermittent hypoxia and sleep fragmentation are critical pathophysiological processes involved in obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). These manifestation independently affect similar brain regions and contribute to OSAHS-related comorbidities that are known to be related to the host gut alteration microbiota. We hypothesized that microbiota disruption influences the pathophysiological processes of OSAHS through a microbiota-gut-brain axis. Thus, we aim to survey enterotypes and polysomnographic data of OSAHS patients. Subjects were diagnosed by polysomnography, from whom fecal samples were obtained and analyzed for the microbiome composition by variable regions 3-4 of 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and bioinformatic analyses. We examined blood cytokines level of all subjects. Three enterotypes Bacteroides (n=73), Ruminococcus (n=14), and Prevotella (n=26) were identified. Central apnea indices, mixed apnea indices, N1 sleep stage, mean apnea-hypopnea duration, and arousal indices were increased in apnea-hypopnea indices (AHI) [≥]15 patients with the Prevotella enterotype. However, for AHI<15 subjects, obstructive apnea indices and systolic blood pressure were significantly observed in Ruminococcus and Prevotella enterotypes, respectively. The present study indicates the possibility of pathophysiological interplay between enterotypes and sleep structure disruption in sleep apnea through a microbiota-gut-brain axis and offers some new insight toward the pathogenesis of OSAHS.