A Role for Microbiota in the Pathophysiology of Takayasu Arteritis (TAK) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA)

Anne Desbois¹, Dragos Ciocan ², David Saadoun ¹, Gabriel Perlemuter ³ and Patrice Cacoub ⁴, ¹GHPS, Paris, France, ²Hôpital Antoine Beclere, Clamart, France, ³Hôpital Clamart, Paris, France, ⁴AP-HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, F-75013, Paris, France, Paris, France

Meeting: 2019 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting

Keywords: giant cell arteritis and microbiome, large vessel vasculitis, Takayasu arteritis

Session Information

Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Session Title: Genetics, Genomics & Proteomics Poster

Session Type: Poster Session (Tuesday)

Session Time: 9:00AM-11:00AM

Background/Purpose: The pathogenesis of Large Vessel Vasculitis (LVV) is not well understood. There is increasing evidence of a close link between intestinal dysbiosis and systemic inflammatory/autoimmune diseases. Gut microbiota has never been studied in LVV. We aimed at comparing the blood microbiota profile of patients with LVV (TAK or GCA) and healthy donors (HD).

Methods: We studied the blood microbiome profile microbiota of 20 patients with TAK, 11 with GCA and 16 HD. The microbiome profile microbiota was assessed by sequencing of the 16S rDNA blood bacterial DNA. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) coupled with effect size measurement (LEfSe) was used to analyse the differences in the microbiome profile between groups.

Results: TAK and GCA patients had a mean age of 45 (23.1; 70.6) and 74.5 (58; 84) years, and were of female gender in 55% and 85%, respectively. Among TAK patients 10 had an active disease and 10 were inactive; among GCA patients, 6 were active and 4 inactive. TAK patients compared to HD showed a specific blood microbiota profile with a significant higher level of the phyla Clostridia (Clostridium saudiense), Cytophagia (Pseudarcella Hirudinis) and Delta-proteobacteria (Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus particularly), whereas Bacillus and Staphylococcus were significantly more abundant in HD (p< 0.05) (Figure). Active compared to inactive TAK patients had significantly lower levels of Staphylococcus. TAK microbiota compared to GCA showed significant higher levels of Bacteroidia (LDA >2; p< 0.05). In TAK patients, differences in the blood microbiome were also associated with a shift of metabolic functions. TAK patients compared to HD showed a significant increase of porphyrin and chlorophyll pathways. Active compared to inactive TAK patients showed increase of the same pathways. GCA patients did not show a specific blood microbiota profile compared to HD, except for lower levels of Bacteroidia.

Conclusion: patients with TAK showed a specific blood microbiome profile as compared to healthy controls and GCA patients. Among TAK patients, significant changes of blood microbiome profile were found in active as compared to inactive patients, and it was associated with specific metabolic functions.

Microbiome profile of TAK patients compared to HD

Disclosure: A. Desbois, None; D. Ciocan, None; D. Saadoun, None; G. Perlemuter, None; P. Cacoub, Abbvie, 5, AstraZeneca, 5, Bristol meyer squibb, 5, Gilead, 5, Glaxo Smith Kline, 5, Janssen, 5, Merck Sharp Dohme, 5, Roche, 5, Servier, 5, Vifor, 5.

To cite this abstract in AMA style:

Desbois A, Ciocan D, Saadoun D, Perlemuter G, Cacoub P. A Role for Microbiota in the Pathophysiology of Takayasu Arteritis (TAK) and Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) [abstract]. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2019; 71 (suppl 10). https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/a-role-for-microbiota-in-the-pathophysiology-of-takayasu-arteritis-tak-and-giant-cell-arteritis-gca/. Accessed February 25, 2021.

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