Associations of the gut microbiota in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with disease development and activity and therapeutic effects: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of newly diagnosed patients. human gut metagenome

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Considering that the gut microbiota, an environmental factor, impacts the immune system, it may contribute to SLE pathogenesis. This study explored the associations of gut microbiota with SLE development, disease activity and therapeutic effects. We performed cross-sectional comparisons of gut microbiome of patients with new-onset SLE (NOSLE), those in remission (RemSLE), and healthy controls (HC), and conducted the first longitudinal analysis of NOSLE patients from pre-intervention to remission. Stool samples were prospectively collected from all subjects, including NOSLE patients at 3, 6, and 12 months post-intervention, for bacterial 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.