Authors
Alexander Duscha, Barbara Gisevius, Sarah Hirschberg, Nissan Yissachar, Gabriele I Stangl, Eva Dawin, Verian Bader, Stefanie Haase, Johannes Kaisler, Christina David, Ruth Schneider, Riccardo Troisi, Daniel Zent, Tobias Hegelmaier, Nikolaos Dokalis, Sara Gerstein, Sara Del Mare-Roumani, Sivan Amidror, Ori Staszewski, Gereon Poschmann, Kai Stühler, Frank Hirche, Andras Balogh, Stefan Kempa, Pascal Träger, Mario M Zaiss, Jacob Bak Holm, Megan G Massa, Henrik Bjørn Nielsen, Andreas Faissner, Carsten Lukas, Sören G Gatermann, Markus Scholz, Horst Przuntek, Marco Prinz, Sofia K Forslund, Konstanze F Winklhofer, Dominik N Müller, Ralf A Linker, Ralf Gold, Aiden Haghikia
Publication date
2020/3/19
Journal
Cell
Volume
180
Issue
6
Pages
1067-1080. e16
Publisher
Elsevier
Description
Short-chain fatty acids are processed from indigestible dietary fibers by gut bacteria and have immunomodulatory properties. Here, we investigate propionic acid (PA) in multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease. Serum and feces of subjects with MS exhibited significantly reduced PA amounts compared with controls, particularly after the first relapse. In a proof-of-concept study, we supplemented PA to therapy-naive MS patients and as an add-on to MS immunotherapy. After 2 weeks of PA intake, we observed a significant and sustained increase of functionally competent regulatory T (Treg) cells, whereas Th1 and Th17 cells decreased significantly. Post-hoc analyses revealed a reduced annual relapse rate, disability stabilization, and reduced brain atrophy after 3 years of PA intake. Functional microbiome analysis revealed increased expression of Treg-cell-inducing genes in the …
Scholar articles
A Duscha, B Gisevius, S Hirschberg, N Yissachar… - Cell, 2020