Traditional Chinese medicine improves myasthenia gravis by regulating the symbiotic homeostasis of the intestinal microbiota and host

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies that is dependent on T-cell immunity and complement participation and mainly involves neuromuscular junctions. In this study, 30 patients with myasthenia gravis were selected and divided into pretreatment (Case group) and posttreatment (Treatment group) and 30 healthy volunteers (CON group) were included. Among them, the treatment group was treated with Modified Buzhong Yiqi Decoction (MBZYQD), and the levels of antibodies such as AChR, Musk and Titin in blood and intestinal microbiota were compared before treatment (Case group), after treatment (Treatment group) and in healthy volunteers (CON group). The results showed that after treatment with MBZYQD, the antibody levels of AChR, MuSK, and Titin and the inflammatory factor level of IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-22 in MG patients decreased significantly and nearly returned to a healthy level. In addition, after treatment with MBZYQD, the diversity, structure and function of intestinal microorganisms in MG patients also recovered to a healthy level. At the phylum level, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria in the Case group increased significantly, accompanied by a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Bacteroides compared with that in the CON group, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Bacteroides in the Treatment group was similar to that in the CON group. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Shigella in the Case group was significantly increased, accompanied by a significant decrease in the relative abundance of Prevotella, and the relative abundance of Shigella and Prevotella in Treatment group was similar to that in the CON group. Moreover, the fluorobenzoate degradation pathway (KO00364) was significantly increased in the Case group, while this pathway was significantly decreased in the Treatment group. In conclusion, MBZYQD can improve the immune function of the host by regulating the diversity, structure and function of the intestinal microbiota to treat myasthenia gravis.

Different Diet Energy Levels Alter Body Condition, Glucolipid Metabolism, Fecal Microbiota and Metabolites in Adult Beagle Dogs

“…It has been found that the metabolism of xenobiotics via the cytochrome P450 pathway can be activated by increased energy restriction [106]. Fluorobenzoate degradation may be the key metabolic pathway involved in myasthenia gravis [107] and may be related to Crohn's disease [108]. These facts suggest a potential risk associated with the prolonged feeding of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets to adult beagles.…”