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Disease Features and Gastrointestinal Microbial Composition in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis from Two Independent Cohorts

Andréasson, Kristofer LU ; Lee, S. Melanie ; Lagishetty, Venu ; Wu, Meifang ; Howlett, Natalie ; English, James ; Hesselstrand, Roger LU ; Clements, Philip J. ; Jacobs, Jonathan P. and Volkmann, Elizabeth R. (2022) In ACR Open Rheumatology 4(5). p.417-425
Abstract

Objective: The study objective was to examine alterations in gastrointestinal (GI) microbial composition in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to investigate the relationship between SSc features and GI microbiota using two independent, international cohorts. Methods: Prospective patients with SSc from Lund University (LU), Sweden, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States, and control subjects provided stool specimens for 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity analyses were performed. Multivariate negative binomial models identified differentially abundant genera between groups. Results: Patients from LU with SSc (n = 106) with recent SSc diagnosis (median disease duration 2.0 years)... (More)

Objective: The study objective was to examine alterations in gastrointestinal (GI) microbial composition in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to investigate the relationship between SSc features and GI microbiota using two independent, international cohorts. Methods: Prospective patients with SSc from Lund University (LU), Sweden, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States, and control subjects provided stool specimens for 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity analyses were performed. Multivariate negative binomial models identified differentially abundant genera between groups. Results: Patients from LU with SSc (n = 106) with recent SSc diagnosis (median disease duration 2.0 years) had lower abundance of commensal genera (eg, Faecalibacterium) and higher abundance of pathobiont genera (eg, Desulfovibrio) than LU-controls (n = 85). Patients from UCLA with SSc (n = 71) had a similar prevalence of females, a similar body mass index, and similar age but an increased disease duration (median 7.1 years) compared with patients from LU with SSc. Factors associated with beta diversity in patients with SSc from both LU and UCLA included disease duration (P = 0.0016), interstitial lung disease (P = 0.003), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (P = 0.002), and immunosuppression use (P = 0.014). In multivariable analysis, the UCLA-SSc cohort had higher abundance of specific pathobiont genera (eg, Streptococcus) compared with the LU-SSc cohort. Conclusion: Enrichments and depletions in certain microbial genera were observed in patients recently diagnosed with SSc, suggesting that dysbiosis is present in early SSc. Specific disease features were independently associated with fecal microbial composition in both cohorts. After controlling for these factors, the abundance of several pathobiont bacteria differed between the cohorts, suggesting that environmental factors, along with disease manifestations, should be considered in future SSc studies.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
ACR Open Rheumatology
volume
4
issue
5
pages
9 pages
publisher
Wiley
external identifiers
  • scopus:85133343794
  • pmid:35174673
ISSN
2578-5745
DOI
10.1002/acr2.11387
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
82480f0d-77f4-4e36-8c92-491a440c536f
date added to LUP
2022-09-28 12:22:48
date last changed
2024-06-13 19:41:19
@article{82480f0d-77f4-4e36-8c92-491a440c536f,
  abstract     = {{<p>Objective: The study objective was to examine alterations in gastrointestinal (GI) microbial composition in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and to investigate the relationship between SSc features and GI microbiota using two independent, international cohorts. Methods: Prospective patients with SSc from Lund University (LU), Sweden, from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), United States, and control subjects provided stool specimens for 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing. Alpha and beta diversity analyses were performed. Multivariate negative binomial models identified differentially abundant genera between groups. Results: Patients from LU with SSc (n = 106) with recent SSc diagnosis (median disease duration 2.0 years) had lower abundance of commensal genera (eg, Faecalibacterium) and higher abundance of pathobiont genera (eg, Desulfovibrio) than LU-controls (n = 85). Patients from UCLA with SSc (n = 71) had a similar prevalence of females, a similar body mass index, and similar age but an increased disease duration (median 7.1 years) compared with patients from LU with SSc. Factors associated with beta diversity in patients with SSc from both LU and UCLA included disease duration (P = 0.0016), interstitial lung disease (P = 0.003), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (P = 0.002), and immunosuppression use (P = 0.014). In multivariable analysis, the UCLA-SSc cohort had higher abundance of specific pathobiont genera (eg, Streptococcus) compared with the LU-SSc cohort. Conclusion: Enrichments and depletions in certain microbial genera were observed in patients recently diagnosed with SSc, suggesting that dysbiosis is present in early SSc. Specific disease features were independently associated with fecal microbial composition in both cohorts. After controlling for these factors, the abundance of several pathobiont bacteria differed between the cohorts, suggesting that environmental factors, along with disease manifestations, should be considered in future SSc studies.</p>}},
  author       = {{Andréasson, Kristofer and Lee, S. Melanie and Lagishetty, Venu and Wu, Meifang and Howlett, Natalie and English, James and Hesselstrand, Roger and Clements, Philip J. and Jacobs, Jonathan P. and Volkmann, Elizabeth R.}},
  issn         = {{2578-5745}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{417--425}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley}},
  series       = {{ACR Open Rheumatology}},
  title        = {{Disease Features and Gastrointestinal Microbial Composition in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis from Two Independent Cohorts}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/acr2.11387}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/acr2.11387}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}