AUTHOR=Yao Han , Yang Hao , Wang Yueying , Xing Qian , Yan Lin , Chai Yaru 

TITLE=Gut microbiome and fecal metabolic alteration in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with depression

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2022.1040211

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2022.1040211

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Mental health disorders in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are gradually getting recognized; however, less is known regarding the actual structure and compositional alterations in gut microbiome and metabolism and the mechanisms of how they affect depression development in SLE patients.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>Twenty-one SLE patients with depression (SLE-d), 17 SLE patients without depression (SLE-nd), and 32 healthy controls (HC) were included in this study. Fecal samples were collected for 16S rRNA gene sequencing and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QTOF-MS) based metabolomics.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>The structure of gut microbiome in the SLE-d group changed compared with that in the other two groups. The microbiome composition of SLE-d group showed decreased species richness indices, characterized by low ACE and Chao1 indices, a decrease in the ratio of phylum Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, genus <italic>Faecalibacterium</italic> and <italic>Roseburia</italic>. A downregulation of the metabolite fexofenadine involved in bile secretion was positively correlated with the genus <italic>Faecalibacterium</italic>, <italic>Subdoligranulum</italic> and <italic>Agathobacter</italic>. Compared with the SLE-nd group, the SLE-d group had elevated serum levels of IL-2 and IL-6 and decreased BDNF. Interestingly, abundance of the genus <italic>Faecalibacterium</italic> and <italic>Roseburia</italic> was negatively correlated with IL-6, abundance of the genus <italic>Roseburia</italic> was negatively correlated with IL-2, and abundance of the genus <italic>Bacteroides</italic> was positively correlated with IL-2.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>This study identified specific fecal microbes and their metabolites that may participate in the development of SLE-d. Our findings provide a new perspective for improving depression in SLE patients by regulating the gut–brain axis.</p></sec>