Notes:
- Mice with lupus had decreased amounts of Lactobacillus.
- The lupus mice had a "leaky gut" a condition that affects the intestinal lining.
- Addition of Lactobacillus to the diet only affected female mice and not males. (1)
- Women diagnosed with SLE had roughly five times more gut bacteria known as Ruminococcus gnavus.
- New treatments could also be used to promote growth of Bacteroides uniformis, bacteria thought to hinder growth of R. gnavus in the gut and whose numbers decreased by as much as fourfold in study participants with lupus when compared to those without the disease.
- Women diagnosed with SLE had roughly five times more gut bacteria known as Ruminococcus gnavus, than 17 women of similar ages and racial backgrounds who did not have the disease and were healthy.
- Disease "flares," which can range from instances of skin rash and joint pain to severe kidney dysfunction requiring dialysis, closely tracked major increases in R. gnavus bacterial growth in the gut, alongside the presence in blood samples of immune proteins called antibodies, specifically shaped to attach to the bacteria. Study participants with kidney flares had especially high levels of antibodies to R. gnavus.
- Strong immune antibody reactions to R. gnavus in the blood because the gut lining prevents the bacterium from escaping to other parts of the body. Researchers say this suggests that small pieces of the bacteria, known as antigens, must have "leaked" into the gut to trigger the immune reaction. (3)