Agrarian Diet Improves Metabolic Health in HIV-positive Men with Prevotella-Rich Microbiomes: Results from a Randomized Trial

Agrarian Diet Improves Metabolic Health in HIV-positive Men with Prevotella-Rich Microbiomes: Results from a Randomized Trial | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Agrarian Diet Improves Metabolic Health in HIV-positive Men with Prevotella-Rich Microbiomes: Results from a Randomized Trial Catherine Lozupone, John O'Connor, Jennifer Fouquier, Charles Neff, and 11 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5349309/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study aimed to assess the impact a high-fiber/low-fat agrarian diet (AD) on inflammation and metabolic outcomes in HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM). Since the gut microbiome of MSM has been shown to have a striking resemblance to individuals in agrarian cultures, including being Prevotella-rich and Bacteroides-poor, we hypothesized that they would have particularly strong health benefits from consumption of a diet matched to their microbiome type. Sixty-six participants, including 36 HIV-positive MSM (HIV(+)MSM), 21 HIV-negative MSM, and 9 HIV negative men who have sex with women were randomized to either an AD or a high-fat western diet (WD) for four weeks. The AD reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in HIV(+)MSM, with more significant reductions predicted by Prevotella-rich/Bacteroides-poor microbiomes at baseline. The AD also reduced T cell exhaustion and pro-inflammatory intermediate monocytes and altered host transcription in the colonic mucosa. Our findings suggest that tailoring diet interventions to baseline microbiome type can help promote metabolic health in HIV(+)MSM. Health sciences/Diseases/Metabolic disorders Biological sciences/Microbiology/Microbial communities/Microbiome Health sciences/Medical research/Translational research Biological sciences/Immunology/Inflammation/Chronic inflammation Health sciences/Diseases/Infectious diseases/HIV infections Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5349309","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":378222299,"identity":"607d7936-05d9-473f-bbc2-735adb4f4368","order_by":0,"name":"Catherine 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