Prevotella copri in individuals at risk for rheumatoid arthritis
Prevotella copri in individuals at risk for rheumatoid arthritis
Deshire Alpizar-Rodriguez, Till Robin lesker, Achim Gronow, Benoît Gilbert, Elena Raemy, Celine Lamacchia, Cem Gabay, Axel Finckh, Till Strowig
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with a relative expansion of faecal prevotellaceae. We determined the microbiome composition and prevalence of Prevotella spp. in a group of individuals at increased risk for RA, but prior to the development of the disease.
In an ongoing cohort study of first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with RA, we identified ’FDR controls’, asymptomatic and without autoantibodies, and individuals in pre-clinical Ra stages, who had either developed anticitrullinated peptide antibodies or rheumatoid factor positivity and/or symptoms and signs associated with possible RA. Stool sampling and culture-independent microbiota analyses were performed followed by descriptive statistics and statistical analyses of community structures.
A total of 133 participants were included, of which 50 were categorised as ’FDR controls’ and 83 in ’pre-clinical RA stages’. The microbiota of individuals in ’pre-clinical RA stages’ was significantly altered compared with FDR controls. We found a significant enrichment of the bacterial family prevotellaceae, particularly Prevotella spp., in the ’pre-clinical RA’ group (p=0.04).
Key idea/result:
A high relative abundance of Prevotella coprihas been identified in patients newly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, suggesting a role of gut microbiota dysbiosis in the cause and development of the disease.
Author:
Deshiré Alpizar-Rodríguez is a Rheumatologist and Internal Medicine Physician with a PhD in Medical Sciences. She worked at the Division of Rheumatology, University of Geneva from 2014-18.
Key words:
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Intestinal dysbiosis
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Prevotella copri
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Environmental predictors of disease
