How does the intestinal flora induce rheumatoid arthritis?

In our human intestines alone, it contains more than 100 trillion bacteria that help the body digest food, produce vitamins to prevent diseases caused by bacteria in food, and stimulate the immune system. As the research progressed, scientists found that intestinal microbes also played a key role in many chronic diseases and symptoms, such as inflammation and obesity. Now, more and more studies have shown that intestinal bacteria can cause cancer, metabolic syndrome, thyroid disease and other diseases through the signaling pathways that affect their hosts.

Recently, researchers from the Mayo Clinic have shown that intestinal bacteria can also help us predict the susceptibility of individuals to rheumatoid arthritis. The research is published in the international journals Genome Medicine and Arthritis and Rheumatology . In the report, the researchers clarified the association between intestinal microflora and individuals with rheumatoid arthritis.

At present, more than 1.5 million Americans suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is a physical disorder that causes joint pain in individuals. Scientists are not very clear about the specific processes and mechanisms that trigger rheumatoid arthritis. Researcher Taneja and colleagues have found that intestinal bacteria may be the cause of rheumatoid arthritis. Studies have shown that testing a specific flora in the gut may help clinicians predict and inhibit rheumatoid arthritis in patients.

The researchers said that we are very excited, because in the latter stage we may be able to develop new individualized therapies for rheumatoid arthritis; in the study published in Genome Medicine , the researchers were patients with rheumatoid arthritis For the study group, healthy individuals were used as controls; the researchers aimed to find a biomarker that could predict an individual's susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. Biomarkers are a special substance that can reveal disease progression, the researchers pointed out. High levels of specific rare bacterial lineages may cause imbalances in the intestinal flora, and researchers often find imbalances in the body's gut flora in the body of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Using genome sequencing technology, Taneja says, we can identify some of the intestinal flora that are rare and low in normal conditions in healthy individuals. However, these special flora are abundant in the body of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Predictive and effective inhibition of rheumatoid arthritis

The researchers pointed out that we will first conduct in-depth research on mice, and finally conduct clinical trials on humans. The intestinal microbial community and metabolism specificity can help us establish a predictive contour, which is to elucidate the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. And to help develop new solutions.

Based on studies in mice, scientists have found that the intestinal microbial Collinsella bacteria are directly related to mouse arthritis, and the presence of these bacteria can help develop methods for diagnosing arthritis patients in the early stages of the disease. Reducing the balance of the intestinal flora can also trigger the development of rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers believe that they need to conduct more in-depth research to develop new inhibitory therapies later.

Develop highly effective therapies with fewer side effects

Previously, researchers from New York University published a study in the journal eLife, they found that human intestinal bacteria - Prevotella (Prevotella copri) may occur referral guide of rheumatoid arthritis. In the article, the researchers used advanced DNA analysis techniques to compare intestinal bacteria in rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy people's stool samples, and found that the number of P. copri carried by newly diagnosed patients with rheumatoid arthritis was higher than that of healthy people. Or patients with chronic, treated rheumatoid arthritis patients. In addition, too much P. copri is also associated with a reduction in intestinal beneficial bacteria.

In a study published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatology , the researcher Taneja and colleagues conducted a more in-depth study of the intestinal flora, using Prevotella bacteria Prevotella histicola to treat a group of arthritis. Mice were treated with non-treated mice as controls; the researchers found that the inflammatory symptoms associated with rheumatoid arthritis in the mice treated with bacteria were significantly reduced, and the frequency and severity of symptoms occurred. The corresponding reduction, which indicates that this treatment may be effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, with fewer side effects, such as weight gain and atrophy of the villi.

Now that human clinical trials have not yet begun, the researchers point out that the mouse's immune system and arthritis can mimic humans, and that they can show some similarities and positive effects; bacteria as part of the gut of healthy people, new treatments seem to It is unlikely to cause adverse side effects on the intestinal flora. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body erroneously attacks itself. Once it develops, the body attacks itself, destroys the tissue surrounding the joint, triggers a special bulge, which erodes the bone and promotes joint deformation. At the same time, rheumatoid arthritis can damage other tissues in the body, such as skin, eyes, heart, lungs and blood vessels. (Bio Valley Bioon.com)

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Reference materials:

[1]Human Gut-Derived Prevotella histicola Suppresses Inflammatory Arthritis in Humanized Mice

Arthritis and Rheumatology DOI: 10.1002/art.39785

[2]An expansion of rare lineage intestinal microbes characterizes rheumatoid arthritis

Genome Medicine DOI: 10.1186/s13073-016-0299-7

[3] Gut bacteria can cause, predict and prevent rheumatoid arthritis

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[2] New targets for rheumatoid arthritis treatment

[3] PNAS: a new treatment for the complete cure of rheumatoid arthritis

[4] eLife: Excessive intestinal flora induces rheumatoid arthritis

[5] Nature: The potential role of Przetia in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis

[6] Oral and intestinal microbial population genomic association analysis reveals rheumatoid arthritis microbial markers