Department of Endocrinology, Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of the Ministry of Education, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, China.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2022 Mar 25;12:794711. doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.794711. eCollection 2022.
Immune dysfunction caused by environmental factors plays an important role in the development of Graves' disease (GD), and environmental factors are closely related to the intestinal flora. Our previous study showed significant changes in the intestinal flora in GD patients compared with healthy volunteers. This study analyzed the relationships between changes in the intestinal flora, thyroid function and relevant thyroid antibodies in GD patients before and after methimazole treatment. The subjects were divided into the UGD group (18 newly diagnosed GD patients), the TGD group (10 GD patients with normal or approximately normal thyroid function after methimazole treatment) and the NC group (11 healthy volunteers). Their fresh stool samples were sent for 16S rRNA gene amplification and Illumina platform sequencing. The correlations of the relative abundance of with the levels of TRAb, TgAb and TPOAb in the NC group and the UGD group were analyzed. A total of 1,562,445 high-quality sequences were obtained. In the UGD group, the abundances of and were higher than that in the NC group; abundance in the TGD group was higher than that in the NC group, while and abundances were lower than that in the NC group; and abundances in the UGD group were higher than that in the TGD group. The predominant abundance distribution of Bifidobacteriaceae in the UGD group at the family level was superior to that in the NC group. The abundance of was positively correlated with the levels of TRAb, TgAb, and TPOAb. The biological diversity of the intestinal flora was reduced in GD patients. After methimazole treatment, the composition of the intestinal flora was significantly altered. The change in abundance was positively correlated with TRAb, TgAb and TPOAb, suggesting that it might be related to the immune mechanism of GD. The results of this study may deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis of GD and provide a new idea for the treatment of GD.
环境因素引起的免疫功能紊乱在格雷夫斯病（GD）的发病机制中起着重要作用，而环境因素与肠道菌群密切相关。我们之前的研究表明，GD 患者的肠道菌群与健康志愿者相比存在显著变化。本研究分析了 GD 患者在甲巯咪唑治疗前后肠道菌群、甲状腺功能及相关甲状腺抗体的变化关系。将研究对象分为 UGD 组（18 例新诊断 GD 患者）、TGD 组（10 例经甲巯咪唑治疗后甲状腺功能正常或基本正常的 GD 患者）和 NC 组（11 例健康志愿者）。采集新鲜粪便样本进行 16S rRNA 基因扩增和 Illumina 平台测序。分析 NC 组和 UGD 组中相对丰度与 TRAb、TgAb 和 TPOAb 水平的相关性。共获得 1562445 条高质量序列。在 UGD 组中， 和 的丰度高于 NC 组；TGD 组中 丰度高于 NC 组，而 、 丰度低于 NC 组；UGD 组中 、 的丰度高于 TGD 组。在家族水平上，UGD 组双歧杆菌科的优势丰度分布优于 NC 组。丰度与 TRAb、TgAb 和 TPOAb 水平呈正相关。GD 患者肠道菌群的生物多样性降低，经甲巯咪唑治疗后肠道菌群组成发生显著改变。丰度的变化与 TRAb、TgAb 和 TPOAb 呈正相关，提示其可能与 GD 的免疫发病机制有关。本研究结果可能加深我们对 GD 发病机制的认识，并为 GD 的治疗提供新的思路。
