Gut microbiota in experimental murine model of Graves' orbitopathy established in different environments may modulate clinical presentation of disease

Masetti, Giulia, Moshkelgosha, Sajad, Kohling, Hedda-Luise, Covelli, Danila, Banga, Jasvinder Paul, Berchner-Pfannschmidt, Utta, Horstmann, Mareike, Diaz-Cano, Salvador, Goertz, Gina-Eva, Plummer, Sue, Eckstein, Anja, Ludgate, Marian, Biscarini, Filippo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3901-2354 and Marchesi, Julian Roberto ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7994-5239 2018. Gut microbiota in experimental murine model of Graves' orbitopathy established in different environments may modulate clinical presentation of disease. Microbiome 6 , 97. 10.1186/s40168-018-0478-4

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Abstract

Background: Variation in induced models of autoimmunity has been attributed to the housing environment and its effect on the gut microbiota. In Graves’ disease (GD), autoantibodies to the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) cause autoimmune hyperthyroidism. Many GD patients develop Graves’ orbitopathy or ophthalmopathy (GO) characterized by orbital tissue remodeling including adipogenesis. Murine models of GD/GO would help delineate pathogenetic mechanisms, and although several have been reported, most lack reproducibility. A model comprising immunization of female BALBc mice with a TSHR expression plasmid using in vivo electroporation was reproduced in two independent laboratories. Similar orbital disease was induced in both centers, but differences were apparent (e.g., hyperthyroidism in Center 1 but not Center 2). We hypothesized a role for the gut microbiota influencing the outcome and reproducibility of induced GO. Results: We combined metataxonomics (16S rRNA gene sequencing) and traditional microbial culture of the intestinal contents from the GO murine model, to analyze the gut microbiota in the two centers. We observed significant differences in alpha and beta diversity and in the taxonomic profiles, e.g., operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from the genus Lactobacillus were more abundant in Center 2, and Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium counts were more abundant in Center 1 where we also observed a negative correlation between the OTUs of the genus Intestinimonas and TSHR autoantibodies. Traditional microbiology largely confirmed the metataxonomics data and indicated significantly higher yeast counts in Center 1 TSHR-immunized mice. We also compared the gut microbiota between immunization groups within Center 2, comprising the TSHR- or βgal control-immunized mice and naïve untreated mice. We observed a shift of the TSHR-immunized mice bacterial communities described by the beta diversity weighted Unifrac. Furthermore, we observed a significant positive correlation between the presence of Firmicutes and orbital-adipogenesis specifically in TSHR-immunized mice.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences Medicine
Additional Information:	This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publisher:	BMC
ISSN:	2049-2618
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	11 May 2018
Date of Acceptance:	8 May 2018
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2023 10:43
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/111375

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