Gut microbiota dysbiosis may shed light on synovial abnormality in hand osteoarthritis
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Patients with hand synovial abnormalities in osteoarthritis demonstrate an abundance of two specific species of gut microbiota, according to findings presented at the 2022 OARSI World Congress.
Jie Wei, PhD, of the Health Management Center at Xiangya Hospital Central South University, and colleagues, aimed to determine whether abnormalities in the gut would be implicated in hand osteoarthritis.
“We also wanted to evaluate the extent to which the association was mediated by bile acids,” Wei said.
The study population was gathered from the Xiangya Osteoarthritis (XO) study, a community-based, ongoing longitudinal trial conducted in rural China. Ultimately, 4,080 eligible participants aged 50 years and older with unilateral or bilateral synovial abnormalities underwent analysis. The final study cohort included 1,336 individuals, with 245 patients who had hand synovial abnormalities and 1,091 controls.
The median age for both patients and controls was 67 years. The patient group was 55% women.
The researchers collected stool and blood samples and conducted 16s ribosomal RNA sequencing.
Results demonstrated that participants with hand synovial abnormalities had a higher prevalence of Prevotella and Blautia gut microbiota. Moreover, the presence of these two microbial populations was also associated with tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) and glycohyocholic acid (GHCA) in the bile.
Wei explained why the presence of these microbes and acids in the gut may be relevant to osteoarthritis.
“High levels of TUDCA and GUDCA were inversely associated with prevalent obesity and inflammatory bowel disease by alleviating inflammatory responses,” she said. “Prevotellaceae has been proposed to prevent the production of TUDCA and GUDCA.”
Although the study is limited by its cross-sectional nature and by the fact that participants in different geographical locations may have different factors that contribute to their microbiome, the associations in the present study were clear, according to Wei.
“Dysbiosis of gut microbiota, mainly higher relative abundance of Prevotella genus, was associated with a high prevalence of hand synovial abnormality,” she said. “This association was partly mediated through low levels of TUDCA and GUDCA.”
Regarding clinical implications of the findings, Wei suggested that this knowledge may provide information leading to new clinical targets in hand OA.
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Wei J. Dysbiosis of gut microbiota, potential mediator of bile acid compositions, and prevalence of hand synovial abnormality: Data from the Xiangya osteoarthritis (XO) study. Presented at: OARSI 2022 World Congress on Osteoarthritis; April 7-10; Berlin, Germany (virtual meeting).
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