AUTHOR=Huang Chao , Gao Feng , Zhou Haitao , Zhang Li , Shang Dandan , Ji Ying , Duan Zhihui 

TITLE=Oral Microbiota Profile in a Group of Anti-AChR Antibody–Positive Myasthenia Gravis Patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2022.938360

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2022.938360

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p>Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder caused by autoantibodies directed against the postsynaptic membrane at the neuromuscular junction. Perturbation of gut microbiota is thought to contribute to the development of MG, as reflected by fecal metabolomic signatures in humans, but there have been few studies on the relationship between oral microbiota profile and MG. The current study evaluated the correlation between oral microbiota composition and diversity and anti-acetylcholinereceptor (AChR) antibody–positive MG by comparing oral microbiota communities of patients <italic>(n</italic> = 20) and healthy controls (HCs; <italic>n</italic> = 20) by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Principal coordinate analysis and Adonis analysis revealed significant differences in oral microflora profile between the twogroups. Compared to HCs, the abundance of the phyla <italic>Firmicutes</italic> and <italic>Actinobacteria</italic> and genera <italic>Streptococcus, Rothia</italic>, and <italic>Lachnoanerobaculum</italic> was significantly increased whereas that of phyla <italic>Proteobacteria</italic> and <italic>Spirochaetota</italic>and genera <italic>Neisseria, Haemophilus</italic>, and <italic>Treponema</italic> was significantly decreased in MG patients. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that the biosynthesis of ansamycins and amino acid metabolism pathways were altered in MG. These results indicate that oral microbiota composition is perturbed in patients with anti-AChR antibody–positive MG, providing new potential avenues for targeted therapeutic interventions.</p>