Gastrointestinal tract microbiota modifications in systemic sclerosis

Abstract

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disease of unknown etiology. Genetic factors arethought to collude with various environmental triggers to induce SSc and subsequently manifestvarious SSc disease phenotypes. Emerging evidence suggests that the microbiota of the gastrointestinaltract (GIT) may represent a key pathogenic participant in this disease state. Recent studies havedemonstrated specific alterations in the GIT microbial composition in SSc patients, and this articlereviews studies that have investigated the GIT microbiota in SSc patients. The focus of this article isto highlight the modifications in the GIT microbiota observed in SSc patients belonging to differentcohorts and to demonstrate how these alterations may be associated with specific SSc features. Thisarticle presents the results of these SSc microbiota studies in the context of findings from microbioticstudies in other autoimmune states to explore similarities and differences across disease states affectingthe immune system. Finally, this article provides insights into potential SSc therapies that targetthe GIT microbiota. Given the complexity and variability of the SSc disease state, any treatment aimedat modulating GIT microbiota will likely need to be coupled with additional interventions that targetother SSc disease components.