Rumour: The gut microbiome may suppress autoimmune disease.
Truth: This is true.
A study published in Cell Reports demonstrated the ability of a certain strain of gut bacteria to modulate the immune system and suppress the development of an experimental autoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis.
This study, performed on mice models, found that the gut bacteria strain increased levels of anti-inflammatory molecules without causing other pathologies. They also found that the bacteria strain could decrease the incidence and severity of the experimental autoimmune disease. The gut bacteria also reduced nerve damage and inflammation in the brain and spinal cord of mice.
Reference
- Cekanaviciute E, Yoo BB, Runia TF, et al. Gut bacteria from multiple sclerosis patients modulate human T cells and exacerbate symptoms in mouse models [published correction appears in Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Oct 17;114(42):E8943]. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2017;114(40):10713-10718. doi:10.1073/pnas.1711235114
