Hypertension is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Recent findings have identified a link between gut microbiota and blood pressure, yet the contributions of gut microbes and bacterial metabolites towards hypertension remain largely uncharacterized. We carried out metagenomic and metabonomics analyses, in combination with faecal microbiota transplantation, and elucidate that dysbiosis of gut microbiome triggers the pathogenesis of hypertension through altering the metabolic effects.

Hypertension is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases worldwide. Recent findings have identified a link between gut microbiota and blood pressure, yet the contributions of gut microbes and bacterial metabolites towards hypertension remain largely uncharacterized. We carried out metagenomic and metabonomics analyses, in combination with faecal microbiota transplantation, and elucidate that dysbiosis of gut microbiome triggers the pathogenesis of hypertension through altering the metabolic effects. Notably, we demonstrate similar discrepancy of microbial compositional and functional features in pre-hypertension and hypertension when compared with the controls, highlighting varied intestinal microbiota in prehypertensive populations. The impairment of host metabolism in pre-hypertension and hypertension was identified to be closely linked with dysbiotic gut microbiome. The hypertensive phenotype was transferrable from hypertension patients to germ-free mice by faecal transplant. Overall, our results explicate a novel role for aberrant gut microbiota as key contributor to the pathogenesis of hypertension, and emphasize the significance of early intervention for pre-hypertension.