Changes in the gut microbiota in JIA are age-dependent

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is one of the most common chronic inflammatory diseases in children and adolescents. A study recently published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Pediatrics by research groups from the DRFZ and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has provided new insights into the relationship between age and the intestinal microbiota in children with JIA. The results highlight the importance of considering age when analysing microbial changes.

Researchers from the Schwiete Laboratory for Microbiota and Inflammation, led by Prof. Dr. Hyun-Dong Chang (DRFZ and Technische Universität Berlin), together with the team of Prof. Dr. Tilmann Kallinich (DRFZ and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin), examined the gut microbiota of 54 JIA patients in comparison to 38 healthy children. In addition to 16S rRNA sequencing to determine the bacterial composition, the analysis also used specially developed multi-parametric microbiota flow cytometry, in which the surface properties of the individual bacterial cells are determined. This revealed significant differences in the composition and properties of the microbiota depending on the age of the test subjects.

These results make it clear that age has a decisive influence on the microbiota. While many studies describe the dynamics of the intestinal flora in the first years of life, age has often not been sufficiently taken into account when considering chronic diseases in children. By subdividing by age group, specific microbial signatures could be identified that would have been overlooked in a general comparison of all healthy subjects and patients. Older JIA patients (12-18 years) showed similarities to microbiota signatures found in adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Thus, this study shows that the age-specific dynamics of the gut microbiota is an essential factor for a comprehensive understanding of the gut flora in diseases in children and for possible therapeutic approaches.

The study was supported by funding from the Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation and the European Regional Development Fund (EFRE Project 1.6/01), among others.