Gut microbiome in driving environmental pollutant trichloroethene-mediated autoimmunity

To determine how gut microbiome dysbiosis contributes to TCE-mediated autoimmunity, and the triggers for microbiome-host interactions leading to systemic autoimmune response, female MRL+/+ mice were treated with 0.5 mg/ml TCE for 52 weeks and fecal samples were subjected to 16S rDNA sequencing to determine the microbiome composition. Furthermore, fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from TCE-treated donor mice to antibiotic-treated recipient mice was performed to establish causal role of gut microbiome in TCE-mediated autoimmunity. This study identified changes in gut microbiome and unraveled potential mechanisms (intestinal integrity and mucosal immunity) that could contribute to systemic inflammatory immune disorders following TCE exposure.