Gut-residing bacteria trigger arthritis in genetically susceptible individuals

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-06/hms-gbt061510.php

Public release date: 17-Jun-2010
Contact: Alyssa Kneller
Harvard Medical School
Gut-residing bacteria trigger arthritis in genetically susceptible individuals

BOSTON, Mass. (June 17, 2010) – A single species of bacteria that lives in the gut is able to trigger a cascade of immune responses that can ultimately result in the development of arthritis.

Our gut, like that of most mammals, is filled with thousands of species of bacteria, many of which are helpful and aid in the development of a normal, healthy immune system. Gut-residing bacteria can also play a role in disorders of the immune system, especially autoimmune disorders in which the body attacks its own cells.

It turns out that rheumatoid arthritis is one such disorder. Researchers in the laboratories of Christophe Benoist and Diane Mathis at Harvard Medical School and Dan Littman at New York University made this discovery while working in mice prone to arthritis.

"In the absence of all bacteria, these mice didn't develop arthritis, but the introduction of a single bacterium was enough to jump-start the immune process that leads to development of the disease," says Mathis, an HMS professor of pathology.

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