Epsilon toxin-producing Clostridium perfringens colonize the multiple sclerosis gut microbiome overcoming CNS immune privilege.

ABSTRACT: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a complex disease of the CNS thought to require an environmental trigger. Gut dysbiosis is common in MS, but specific causative species are unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we used sensitive and quantitative PCR detection to show that people with MS were more likely to harbor and show a greater abundance of epsilon toxin-producing (ETX-producing) strains of C. perfringens within their gut microbiomes compared with individuals who are healthy controls (HCs). Isolates derived from patients with MS produced functional ETX and had a genetic architecture typical of highly conjugative plasmids. In the active immunization model of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), where pertussis toxin (PTX) is used to overcome CNS immune privilege, ETX can substit

SUBMITTER: Ma Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10145940 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature