Rheumatoid arthritis and the intestinal microbiome: probiotics as a potential therapy

Yang Yang; Qing Hong; Xuehong Zhang; Zhenmin Liu

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1331486

Rheumatoid arthritis and the intestinal microbiome: probiotics as a potential therapy

Front Immunol. 2024 Mar 6:15:1331486. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1331486. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Yang Yang¹, Qing Hong¹, Xuehong Zhang², Zhenmin Liu¹

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Dairy Biotechnology, Dairy Research Institute, Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, and School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by swollen joints, discomfort, stiffness, osteoporosis, and reduced functionality. Genetics, smoking, dust inhalation, high BMI, and hormonal and gut microbiota dysbiosis are all likely causes of the onset or development of RA, but the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Compared to healthy controls, patients with RA have a significantly different composition of gut microbiota. It is well known that the human gut microbiota plays a key role in the initiation, maintenance, and operation of the host immune system. Gut microbiota dysbiosis has local or systematic adverse effects on the host immune system, resulting in host susceptibility to various diseases, including RA. Studies on the intestinal microbiota modulation and immunomodulatory properties of probiotics have been reported, in order to identify their potential possibility in prevention and disease activity control of RA. This review summarized current studies on the role and potential mechanisms of gut microbiota in the development and progression of RA, as well as the preventative and therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of probiotics on RA. Additionally, we proposed the challenges and difficulties in the application of probiotics in RA, providing the direction for the research and application of probiotics in the prevention of RA.

Keywords: gut microbiota; immune response; potential mechanism; probiotics therapy; rheumatoid arthritis.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid* / drug therapy
Dysbiosis / complications
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Immune System
Probiotics* / therapeutic use

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Shanghai Super post-doctoral Incentive Program (grant number 2021093); the Shanghai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Enterprise Innovation Development and Capacity Enhancement Program (No. 2022013); the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFD2100704).