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Hartmann AM, Dell'Oro M, Kessler CS, Schumann D, Steckhan N, Jeitler M, Fischer JM, Spoo M, Kriegel MA, Schneider JG, Häupl T, Kandil FI, Michalsen A, Koppold-Liebscher DA. Efficacy of therapeutic fasting and plant-based diet in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (NutriFast): study protocol for a randomised controlled clinical trial. BMJ Open 2021; 11:e047758. [PMID: 34380725 PMCID: PMC8359474 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown beneficial effects of therapeutic fasting and plant-based dietary interventions on disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for a duration of up to 1 year. To date, the effects of such interventions on the gut microbiome and on modern diagnostic markers in patients with RA have not been studied. This trial aims to investigate the clinical effects of therapeutic fasting and a plant-based diet in patients with RA, additionally considering current immunological diagnostic tools and microbiome analyses. METHODS/DESIGN This trial is an open-label, single-centre, randomised, controlled, parallel-group clinical trial. We will randomly assign 84 patients with RA under a stable standard therapy to either (1) therapeutic fasting followed by a plant-based dietary intervention or (2) to a conventional nutritional counselling focusing on an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern according to the recommendations of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ernährung (German society for nutrition). Primary outcome parameter is the group difference from baseline to 12 weeks on the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Other secondary outcomes include established clinical criteria for disease activity and treatment response in RA (Disease Activity Score 28, Simple Disease Activity Index, ACR-Response Criteria), changes in self-reported health and physical functional ability, mood, stress, quality of life, dietary behaviour via 3-day food records and a modified Food Frequency Questionnaire, body composition, changes in the gut microbiome, metabolomics and cytometric parameters. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and day 7, after 6 weeks, 12 weeks and after 6 months. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethical approval to process and analyse data, and to publish the results was obtained through the institutional review board of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Results of this trial will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and scientific presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT03856190.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anika M Hartmann
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Melanie Dell'Oro
- Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin-Wannsee Branch, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian S Kessler
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin-Wannsee Branch, Berlin, Germany
| | - Dania Schumann
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nico Steckhan
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Jeitler
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin-Wannsee Branch, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jan Moritz Fischer
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michaela Spoo
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin-Wannsee Branch, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin A Kriegel
- Institute for Musculoskeletal Medicine, Department of Translational Rheumatology and Immunology, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
- Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Jochen G Schneider
- Department of Internal Medicine II, Universitätsklinikum des Saarlandes und Medizinische Fakultät der Universität des Saarlandes, Homburg, Germany
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB), University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Thomas Häupl
- Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Farid I Kandil
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Campus Benjamin Franklin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andreas Michalsen
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Internal and Integrative Medicine, Immanuel Hospital Berlin-Wannsee Branch, Berlin, Germany
| | - Daniela A Koppold-Liebscher
- Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Abstract
Hundreds of different species colonize multicellular organisms making them "metaorganisms". A growing body of data supports the role of microbiota in health and in disease. Grasping the principles of host-microbiota interactions (HMIs) at the molecular level is important since it may provide insights into the mechanisms of infections. The crosstalk between the host and the microbiota may help resolve puzzling questions such as how a microorganism can contribute to both health and disease. Integrated superorganism networks that consider host and microbiota as a whole-may uncover their code, clarifying perhaps the most fundamental question: how they modulate immune surveillance. Within this framework, structural HMI networks can uniquely identify potential microbial effectors that target distinct host nodes or interfere with endogenous host interactions, as well as how mutations on either host or microbial proteins affect the interaction. Furthermore, structural HMIs can help identify master host cell regulator nodes and modules whose tweaking by the microbes promote aberrant activity. Collectively, these data can delineate pathogenic mechanisms and thereby help maximize beneficial therapeutics. To date, challenges in experimental techniques limit large-scale characterization of HMIs. Here we highlight an area in its infancy which we believe will increasingly engage the computational community: predicting interactions across kingdoms, and mapping these on the host cellular networks to figure out how commensal and pathogenic microbiota modulate the host signaling and broadly cross-species consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emine Guven-Maiorov
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States of America
| | - Chung-Jung Tsai
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States of America
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, United States of America
- Sackler Inst. of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Bufe B, Zufall F. The sensing of bacteria: emerging principles for the detection of signal sequences by formyl peptide receptors. Biomol Concepts 2017; 7:205-14. [PMID: 27305707 DOI: 10.1515/bmc-2016-0013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2016] [Accepted: 04/29/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to detect specific chemical signatures released by bacteria and other microorganisms is a fundamental feature of immune defense against pathogens. There is increasing evidence that chemodetection of such microorganism-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) occurs at many places in the body including specific sets of chemosensory neurons in the mammalian nose. Formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are a unique family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that can detect the presence of bacteria and function as chemotactic receptors. Here, we highlight the recent discovery of a vast family of natural FPR agonists, the bacterial signal peptides (or signal sequences), thus providing new insight into the molecular mechanisms of bacterial sensing by human and mouse FPRs. Signal peptides in bacteria are formylated, N-terminal protein signatures required for directing the transfer of proteins through the plasma membrane. After their cleavage and release, signal peptides are available for FPR detection and thus provide a previously unrecognized MAMP. With over 170 000 predicted sequences, bacterial signal peptides represent one of the largest families of GPCR ligands and one of the most complex classes of natural activators of the innate immune system. By recognizing a conserved three-dimensional peptide motif, FPRs employ an unusual detection mechanism that combines structural promiscuity with high specificity and sensitivity, thus solving the problem of detecting thousands of distinct sequences yet maintaining selectivity. How signal peptides are released by bacteria and sensed by GPCRs and how these processes shape the responses of other cells and whole organisms represents an important topic for future research.
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Extrahepatic Autoimmune Diseases in Patients with Autoimmune Liver Diseases: A Phenomenon Neglected by Gastroenterologists. Gastroenterol Res Pract 2017; 2017:2376231. [PMID: 28191014 PMCID: PMC5278196 DOI: 10.1155/2017/2376231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Accepted: 11/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoimmune liver diseases (AILDs) often coexist with other extrahepatic autoimmune diseases (EHAIDs). The spectrum of EHAIDs in patients with AILDs is similar, whereas the incidence is different. Notably, autoimmune thyroid disease and Sjogren's syndrome are the most common EHAIDs. Associated extrahepatic diseases may predate the appearance of AILDs or coincide with their onset. More frequently, they may appear during the course and even occur years after the diagnosis of AILDs. Importantly, associated EHAIDs may influence the natural course and prognosis of AILDs. To date, a definite pathophysiological pathway which contributes to the coexistence of AILDs and EHAIDs is still lacking. The current view of autoimmunity clustering involves a common susceptibility genetic background which applies to related pathologies. Herein, we review the current published researches regarding EHAIDs in patients with AILDs, particularly in relation to their clinical impact and pathophysiology. In managing patients with AILDs, gastroenterologists should be aware of the possibly associated EHAIDs to ensure a prompt diagnosis and better outcome.
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