Characteristics of Gut Microbiota in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Shanghai, China

Abstract

Little is known regarding differences in the gut microbiomes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and healthy cohorts in China. This study aimed to identify differences in the fecal microbiomes of 66 Chinese patients with RA and 60 healthy Chinese controls. The V3-V4 variable regions of bacterial 16S rRNA genes were sequenced with the Illumina system to define the bacterial composition. The alpha-diversity index of the microbiome of the RA patients was significantly lower than that of the control group. The bacterial genera Bacteroides (p = 0.02202) and Escherichia-Shigella (p = 0.03137) were more abundant in RA patients. In contrast, Lactobacillus (p = 0.000014), Alloprevotella (p = 0.0000008615), Enterobacter (p = 0.000005759), and Odoribacter (p = 0.0000166) were less abundant in the RA group than in the control group. Spearman correlation analysis of blood physiological measures of RA showed that bacterial genera such as Dorea and Ruminococcus were positively correlated with RF-IgA and anti-CCP antibodies. Furthermore, Alloprevotella and Parabacteroides were positively correlated with the erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and Prevotella-2 and Alloprevotella were positively correlated with C-reactive protein, both biomarkers of inflammation. These findings suggest that the gut microbiota may contribute to RA development via interactions with the host immune system.

Crosstalk Between Gut Microbiota and Innate Immunity and Its Implication in Autoimmune Diseases

“…Meanwhile, studies including ours have demonstrated that there are significant changes of fecal, salivary and dental microbiota diversity between RA patients and healthy population, which are also correlated with clinical disease markers and auto-antibody productions (134,(143)(144)(145). These findings suggest that gut microbiota might be crucial in the initiation of systemic inflammation reaction, especially in people with genetic susceptibility.…”

Shifts in the bacterial community of supragingival plaque related to metabolic associated fatty liver disease

“…have been associated with the severity of chronic periodontitis [36]. Prevotella 2 is a genus of Gram-negative, anaerobic bacteria that exist in the gut and are relevant to multiple disease states, including an increased lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease [30], ankylosing spondylitis [37], and increased levels of C-reactive protein [38]. Considering the consistency between the oral and gut microbiotas [25][26][27], the prevalence of Prevotella 2 in the oral cavity is proposed as a potential marker of systematic diseases including MAFLD.…”

Intestinal Dysbiosis and Tryptophan Metabolism in Autoimmunity

“…RA is characterized by prolonged synovial inflammation leading to bone erosion and cartilage destruction. Several studies have reported an altered intestinal microbial composition in RA patients (6,10,12,15,17,19). A reduced microbial diversity in two cohorts was inversely correlated with disease duration (12,19), while increased diversity positively correlated with treatment (12).…”

“…Intestinal dysbiosis has been documented in human and murine autoimmunity (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21). Specific classes of microbes that may be associated with disease have been identified (6,9,17,22), but causal links between specific bacteria and autoimmune manifestations are still rare.…”