Rheumatoid arthritis patients harbour aberrant enteric bacteriophages with autoimmunity-provoking potential: a paired sibling study
Authors' conclusion
This study provides new insights into enteric bacteriophageome in RA development. In particular, the aberrant bacteriophages demonstrated autoimmunity-provoking potential that would promote the occurrence of the disease.
Study context
- Population
- 30 pairs of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and healthy siblings; faecal samples30 pairs of RA and healthy siblings
- Comparison
- Enteric virome of RA patients vs healthy siblings
- Outcome
- Enteric virome atlas and involvement in RA pathogenesis: α and β diversity, virome-bacteriome interaction, differential bacteriophages
Methodological detailspaired sibling design, metagenomic sequencing
- Paired sibling design
- Metagenomic sequencing
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Composition of the enteric bacteriophageome distorted in RA
- Differentially presented bacteriophages correlated with immunological features of RA, including anti-CCP autoantibody and HLA-DR shared epitope
- Glycerolipid and purine metabolic genes highly active in bacteriophages from RA
- Peptides of RA-enriched phages, in particular Prevotella phage and Oscillibacter phage, provoked autoimmune responses in CD4+ T cells and plasma cells via molecular mimicry of disease-associated autoantigen epitopes, especially those of Bip
Original publication
Rheumatoid arthritis patients harbour aberrant enteric bacteriophages with autoimmunity-provoking potential: a paired sibling study. Ann Rheum Dis. Published 14 November 2024. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →