The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / The Environment Within: A Possible Link Identified Between Plasma Microbial Translocation & Autoantibody Development in 1st Degree Relatives of SLE Patients

The Environment Within: A Possible Link Identified Between Plasma Microbial Translocation & Autoantibody Development in 1st Degree Relatives of SLE Patients

September 30, 2020 • By Kurt Ullman

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF

The growing literature suggests a person’s microbiome may affect the development of the autoantibodies that lead to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). A 2019 study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology reports a possible link between plasma microbial translocation, a person’s microbiome and autoantibody development in first-degree relatives of SLE patients.1

You Might Also Like
  • Unified Signature of SLE May Advance Clinical Diagnosis & Biomarker Development
  • Familial Patterns in Childhood- & Adult-Onset SLE
  • Researchers Calculate Comorbidity Burden for Patients with SLE
Also By This Author
  • Arthritis Self-Management Program Success

“We know that around 90% of lupus patients are women and that a number of factors are at play,” says corresponding author Gary S. Gilkeson, MD, distinguished university professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. Research into HIV shows that some of this heightened response may be related to the fact that the guts of women are more permeable than men’s. “The female immune response is stronger, more responsive and a bit more potent,” he says.

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Gut Permeability
“Under normal conditions,” the study authors write, “the intestinal epithelial lining and factors secreted from it create a barrier separating the host from environmental antigens. However, in various disease states, this barrier may be compromised, leading to the translocation of microbial products into the systemic circulation, which may induce chronic inflammation and systemic tissue damage.” In short, microbial products get into the circulatory system, react with the immune system and trigger different responses. Dr. Gilkeson and colleagues wanted to know if microbial translocation makes a difference in the development of lupus.

Dr. Gilkeson

“Translocation happens in everybody, and it happens more in women than men,” says Dr. Gilkeson. “We studied first-degree relatives, because SLE patients themselves are on medications and other interventions that may impact what gets through the gut and what doesn’t.”

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Plasma samples were taken from two cohorts. One cohort consisted of 18 unrelated, healthy controls and 18 first-degree relatives of SLE patients. The second cohort comprised 19 healthy controls and 21 SLE patients. All subjects were assessed for autoantibody levels using autoantigen microarrays, lipopolysaccharide levels using the Limulus amebocyte assay and microbiome composition using microbial 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing.

All 36 participants in the first cohort were African American men or women. The 40 people enrolled in the second cohort were all women: 20 Caucasian (12 healthy controls and eight SLE patients) and 20 African American (seven unrelated, healthy controls and 13 SLE patients).

Plasma SLE-Related Antibodies Found
Researchers found that plasma levels of SLE-related autoantibodies were higher in SLE patients and their first-degree relatives than in controls. As expected, the autoantigen array results showed greater plasma levels of a large spectrum of autoantibodies in first-degree relatives than in unrelated, healthy controls, as well as in SLE patients when compared with healthy controls.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, SLE (Lupus) Tagged With: Arthritis & Rheumatology, gut, microbial translocation, SLE, SLE Resource Center, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)

You Might Also Like:
  • Unified Signature of SLE May Advance Clinical Diagnosis & Biomarker Development
  • Familial Patterns in Childhood- & Adult-Onset SLE
  • Researchers Calculate Comorbidity Burden for Patients with SLE
  • Physical & Cognitive Function in SLE Patients

ACR Convergence

Don’t miss rheumatology’s premier scientific meeting for anyone involved in research or the delivery of rheumatologic care or services.

Visit the ACR Convergence site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2022 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)