Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease, which affects people’s joints, skin, eyes, lungs and some other organs. Usually rheumatoid arthritis is recognizable because of damaged joints, but it is a much more widely reaching autoimmune disease. That is why scientists at UCL are looking into the gut for the origins of rheumatoid arthritis.
Gut microbiome – artistic visualization. Image credit: IBM Research via Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease, which means that at the centre of it is the body's immune system. And, as you probably know, your gut plays an important role in the function of your body’s immune system. Now scientists performed an interesting pre-clinical study. They used mouse models and patient samples to show that restoration of the gut-barrier could be a useful step in treating RA.
This proposal is built on the idea that the bacteria in the gut might be involved in the development of arthritis. Obviously, other factors, such as genes and environment, are very significant in the development of RA. But the mechanism itself might include damaging the lining of the gut. Some previous studies have confirmed that the connection between gut’s immune functions and arthritis are very real. That is why scientists now wanted to know what was happening in the gut that could be a feature of even the cause of RA onset.
In this pre-clinical study scientists found that even at the earliest stages of arthritis blood markers of gut damage were raised in people with RA. Furthermore, the rise of these blood markers coincided with the progression of RA. Scientists found that when the gut lining is damaged, it allows bacteria to pass from the gut into the body, which enhances inflammation that could affect the joints. One of the more unexpected findings was that people with RA showed distinct signs of inflammation, as might be seen in inflammatory bowel disease.
Claudia Mauri, co-lead author of the study, said: “Our findings suggest that the intestinal lining is a therapeutic target. Importantly, we found that using existing drugs that restore the gut-barrier integrity i.e., prevent the gut from becoming leaky or inhibit inflammatory cells from moving to and from to the gut, could reduce the severity of arthritis in pre-clinical models”.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an incurable disease. There are treatments, but they do not address the problems in the gut. As scientists will move towards clinical studies, they will investigate new treatment opportunities, which will address inflammation in the gut as well.
Autoimmune diseases cause a lot of pain and suffering. RA is no exception. People live in pain and treatment options are limited. Hopefully, a wider look at the body and what might be causing RA will bring new treatment options soon.
Source: UCL