Gut microbiota promote the inflammatory response in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus

OBJECTIVES: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease whose onset and progression are affected by genetic and environmental factors. The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of SLE, and to investigate the mechanism involved. METHODS: Fecal microbiota from C57/BL6 mice and SLE prone mice were examined using next-generation sequencing (NGS). Germ free mice were given fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), and their gut microbiome and gene expression in recipients’ colons were examined by NGS. The anti-double stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibodies in recipients were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The immune cell profiles of mice were analyzed by flow cytometry at the 3rd week after FMT, and the expression of genes associated with SLE after FMT was determined using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: The fecal microbiota of SLE mice had lower community richness and diversity than healthy mice. Fecal microbiota of recipient mice were similar to their donors. Fecal microbiome from SLE mice could lead to a significant increase of anti-dsDNA antibodies and promote the immune response in recipient mice. Our results also indicated that fecal microbiome from SLE mice resulted in significant changes in the distribution of immune cells and upregulated expression of certain lupus susceptibility genes. CONCLUSIONS: SLE is associated with alterations of gut microbiota. Fecal microbiome from SLE mice can induce the production of anti-dsDNA antibodies in germ free mice and stimulate the inflammatory response, and alter the expression of SLE susceptibility genes in these mice. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s10020-019-0102-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.