Genetics and intestinal microbiome determine susceptibility to multiple sclerosis
Study shows the link between genetics, intestinal microbiome and multiple sclerosis in mice for the first time
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In their study, the researchers were able to show that mice have a different susceptibility to MS depending on their genetic characteristics, which is also influenced by the intestinal microbiome and the metabolism of the intestinal bacteria. To do so, they examined mice which are particularly affected by MS due to a genetic predisposition, and compared them with mice which are affected by MS to a lesser extent or not at all due to their genetic predisposition. In the microbiome with severe MS, the researchers found an increased presence of the bacterial species Lactobacillus reuteri.
"We then wanted to find out whether these bacteria are only present as a result of the genetic characteristics, or whether they themselves have an impact on the susceptibility to MS," said Prof. Busch, board member of the Cluster of Excellence PMI and head of the "Systems Biology of Inflammatory Diseases" working group at LIED. To investigate this, the researchers transferred samples of the intestinal microbiome, i.e. bacterial mixtures which were enriched with Lactobacillus reuteri, as well as samples without this enrichment, into mice without their own intestinal microbiome. The microbiome enriched with Lactobacillus reuteri indeed led to increased severity of MS in these mice. "We could thus demonstrate that the intestinal bacteria themselves also have an influence on the severity of the disease," said Busch.
"Due to its positive influence on digestion, Lactobacillus reuteri is often used as a probiotic. In our study, precisely this bacterium is surprisingly the "bad guy". This shows the important role that nutrition, which ultimately also influences the microbiome, could play in the prevention and treatment of MS," said the lead bioinformatics scientist of the study, Dr. Axel Künstner, scientist in the "Systems Biology of Inflammatory Diseases" working group at LIED and also a member of the Cluster of Excellence PMI. "Our observations make clear how important it is that in addition to genetics, other factors such as the intestinal microbiome and nutrition are also considered regarding the origin and progression of complex diseases such as MS," added Künstner.