Comparison of gut microbiota dysbiosis between pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid

Ziying Han; Yue Fan; Qingyang Wu; Feng Guo; Sizhe Li; Xiaomin Hu; Ya-Gang Zuo

doi:10.1016/j.intimp.2023.111470

Comparison of gut microbiota dysbiosis between pemphigus vulgaris and bullous pemphigoid

Int Immunopharmacol. 2024 Feb 15:128:111470. doi: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.111470. Epub 2024 Jan 6.

Authors

Ziying Han¹, Yue Fan², Qingyang Wu², Feng Guo³, Sizhe Li³, Xiaomin Hu⁴, Ya-Gang Zuo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 100730 Beijing, China; Department of Medical Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China.
² Department of Cardiology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 100730 Beijing, China.
³ Department of Dermatology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 100730 Beijing, China.
⁴ Department of Medical Research Center, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100730, China. Electronic address: huxiaomin2015@163.com.
⁵ Department of Dermatology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, 100730 Beijing, China. Electronic address: zuoyagang@263.net.

PMID: 38185033
DOI: 10.1016/j.intimp.2023.111470

Abstract

Objective: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are two prevalent bullous diseases. Previous studies found that the antibodies of BP could be expressed in the intestinal epithelium and BP was tightly related to inflammatory bowel disease. Therefore, gut microbiota might also play an important role in bullous disease. However, the specific relationship between gut microbiota and bullous diseases remains unknown. Our study aimed to investigate the potential role of gut microbiota in the development and progression of different bullous diseases.

Methods: We conducted a prospective and observational cohort study at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Untreated BP and PV patients were recruited, along with healthy controls (HC) who were spouses or caregivers of these patients. Fecal samples were collected, followed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Bioinformatics analyses were performed to assess the composition and function of gut microbiota.

Results: A total of 38 HC, 32 BP, and 19 PV patients were enrolled in this study. Compared to HC, BP, and PV exhibited a distinct gut microbiota composition, especially BP. The gut microbiota changes were mainly observed in the phylum Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The ratio of Faecalibacterium to Escherichia-Shigella (F/E ratio) had a considerable predictive value (AUC: 0.705) for recognizing BP from PV. The levels of Faecalibacterium and Enterobacter were correlated to the anti-BP 180 and anti-desmoglein 3. Microbial functional prediction revealed elevated activity in pathways related to gut microbiota translocation significantly increased in BP patients, indicating a potential pathogenetic role in BP.

Conclusions: Our study suggests that the composition of gut microbiota is specific in different bullous diseases and the role of gut microbiota differs. Gut microbiota could help distinguish BP and PV, and might play a role in the pathogenesis of different bullous diseases.

Keywords: Bullous disease; Bullous pemphigoid; Gut microbiota; Pemphigus vulgaris; Prediction.

Publication types

Observational Study

MeSH terms

Dysbiosis
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Pemphigoid, Bullous* / pathology
Pemphigus*
Prospective Studies
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S