Can Human Gut-Derived Commensal Bacteria Help Treat Multiple Sclerosis?

Celiac.com 08/30/2017 - The human gut is home to a huge and diverse number of microorganisms that perform various biological roles. Disturbances in a healthy gut microbiome might help to trigger various inflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

Human gut-derived commensal bacteria suppress CNS inflammatory and demyelinating disease. Can they improve the treatment of multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

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The research team included Ashutosh Mangalam, Shailesh K. Shahi, David Luckey, Melissa Karau, Eric Marietta, Ningling Luo, Rok Seon Choung, Josephine Ju, Ramakrishna Sompallae, Katherine Gibson-Corley, Robin Patel, Moses Rodriguez, Chella David, Veena Taneja, and Joseph Murray.

In a recent article, the team reports on their identification of human gut-derived commensal bacteria, Prevotella histicola, which can suppress experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II transgenic mouse model.

P. histicola suppresses disease through the modulation of systemic immune reactions. P. histicola challenge caused a reduction in pro-inflammatory Th1 and Th17 cells and an increase in CD4+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells, tolerogenic dendritic cells, and suppressive macrophages.

This study indicates that gut commensals may regulate a systemic immune response, and so may have a role in future treatments for multiple Sclerosis, and possibly other autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease.

Source:

• Cell.com. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2017.07.031