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Dysregulation of gut microbiome is linked to disease activity of rheumatic diseases

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Abstract

Objective rheumatism refers to a large group of diseases with different etiology, mainly characterized by autoimmune disorder. Intestinal flora combines with the digestive organs of the human body to synthesize and secrete the key substances of growth. Several studies have reported abnormal intestinal flora in rheumatic diseases. The purposes of this research were to review the primary studies and figure out the relationship between intestinal flora and rheumatic disease activity. The article search was based on the database of PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, Cochrane to collect English language studies that were published from 1985 to 2019. The articles concerning the intestinal flora and disease activities of rheumatic diseases were classified by disease types, and the relationship between disease activities and intestinal flora was summarized. Eight rheumatic diseases were included in the study. It was found that the changes of intestinal flora were significantly correlated with the activities of rheumatic diseases. There were significant differences in the classification of disease activity and the composition of intestinal flora. Interfering with the composition of intestinal flora can apparently modulate the development of disease. But how to apply such findings is rarely reported. The study finds out that intestinal flora disorder is linked to the activity of rheumatic diseases. But which specific gut flora is connected to the disease activity needs further researches. More discussion is needed on how to apply the results to clinical treatment.

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 81671616, 81871278, and 81801610.

Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province, Grant/Award Number: KYCX18_2410. Special project of clinical medicine of Nantong University: 2019LQ001

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  1. Yanfeng Bao and Chen Dong contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, No. 20, XiSi Road, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

    Yanfeng Bao, Juan Ji & Zhifeng Gu

  2. Research Center of Geriatric Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, No. 20, XiSi Road, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

    Chen Dong

  3. Research Center of Clinical Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, No. 20, XiSi Road, Nantong, 226001, Jiangsu Province, China

    Chen Dong

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  1. Yanfeng Bao
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Bao, Y., Dong, C., Ji, J. et al. Dysregulation of gut microbiome is linked to disease activity of rheumatic diseases. Clin Rheumatol 39, 2523–2528 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-020-05170-9

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