Case report: Fecal microbiota transplantation in refractory ankylosing spondylitis

Lei Wang; Zhimin Wei; Fei Pan; Chuan Song; Lihua Peng; Yunsheng Yang; Feng Huang

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1093233

Case report: Fecal microbiota transplantation in refractory ankylosing spondylitis

Front Immunol. 2023 Feb 23:14:1093233. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1093233. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Lei Wang¹, Zhimin Wei², Fei Pan³, Chuan Song¹, Lihua Peng³, Yunsheng Yang³, Feng Huang¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
² Health Service Department of the Guard Bureau of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Beijing, China.
³ Microbiota Division, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, The First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is the prototype of a group of systemic inflammatory diseases referred to as spondyloarthritis. Comorbid inflammatory bowel disease and changed gut microbiota in AS have attracted attention to the influence of gut-joint axis and encouraged treating AS by targeting gut microbiota. Here we first reported a patient with refractory AS and comorbid ulcerative colitis (UC) who underwent three fecal microbiota transplantations (FMTs). Inadequate response to conventional treatments including tumor necrosis factor inhibitors impelled FMT as alternative therapy. Notable improvements in AS and UC accompanied with changed fecal microbiota were recorded at 1 week post-FMT1. Further recovery was found after the other two FMTs, and a roughly stable status was maintained in the follow-up period. More studies are needed to validate the effectiveness of FMT in AS and its mechanisms.

Keywords: ankylosing spondylitis; case report; fecal microbiota transplantation; gut microbiota; ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

Case Reports
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Colitis, Ulcerative* / pathology
Fecal Microbiota Transplantation
Feces
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Microbiota*
Spondylitis, Ankylosing*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Applied Basic Research Project of Logistics Support Department of CMC under grant 19BJZ41.