Correlation Between Gut Microbiota And Anti-dsDNA Antibody In The Mouse Model Of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Objective To explore the relationship between gut microbiota and serum anti-dsDNA antibodies in lupus TC mice(genotype: B6.NZMSle1/2/3).Methods First,we collected serum from SLE model TC mice and detected serum anti-dsDNA antibodies by ELISA.Then,mice were then divided into anti-dsDNA positive and anti-dsDNA negative groups.After two groups of mouse fecal samples were collected,fecal samples were subjected to 16 S high-throughput sequencing using Illumina's HiSeq 2500 software.The relationship between the two groups of microbiota composition and anti-double-stranded DNA antibody levels was analyzed.Microbiological data was calculated using Qiime software Shannon,Simpson index and UniFrac distance,and R software(Version 2.15.3)was used to analyze the differences between the Alpha diversity index and the Beta diversity index for t test and mapping.Serum anti-dsDNA antibody data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism 6 software for t test.All data were marked by a significant difference of P < 0.05.Results The ELISA test showed that about 85.8% of the TC mice in the SLE model showed positive serum anti-dsDNA antibodies;About 14.2% of the mice showed negative serum anti-dsDNA antibodies.Sequencing of the SLE model TC mouse feces revealed that the diversity of microbial species in the anti-dsDNA antibody positive group was significantly lower than that in the anti-dsDNA antibody negative group(P < 0.05).At the same time,the intestinal microflora of the two groups of SLE model TC mice were significantly different in Chloroflexi,Betaproteobacteria,Deltaproteobacteria,Ktedonobacteria,Burkholderiales,Desulfovibrionales,Ktedonobacterales,Alcaligenaceae,Desulfovibrionaceae,Parasutterella and Desulfovibrio(P < 0.05).Conclusions The species diversity and composition of intestinal microflora in SLE model TC mice are highly correlated with serum anti-dsDNA antibody levels.It suggests that the intestinal microbiota may be involved in the pathogenesis of SLE.The study provides a preliminary basis for further elucidating the role of intestinal microbiota in the pathogenesis and progression of SLE.