德国波鸿鲁尔大学Aiden Haghikia研究组的最新工作表明，丙酸通过免疫调节机制塑造多发性硬化症的病程。2020年3月10日，《细胞》杂志在线发表了这项成果。

研究人员测试了丙酸（PA）在多发性硬化症（MS，一种自身免疫性疾病和神经退行性疾病）中的作用。与对照组相比，患有MS的受试者的血清和粪便表现出显著降低的PA量，尤其是在第一次复发后。

在概念验证研究中，研究人员为未接受过治疗的MS患者补充了PA，并作为MS免疫治疗的补充。摄入PA两周后，他们观察到功能持续的调节性T（Treg）细胞显著且持续增加，而Th1和Th17细胞则显著下降。

事后分析显示，摄入PA三年后，年复发率降低，疾病稳定并减少了脑萎缩。功能性微生物组分析显示，摄入PA后，肠中Treg细胞诱导基因的表达增加。此外，PA使MS中的Treg细胞线粒体功能和形态正常化。

这些发现表明PA可以作为MS药物的有效免疫调节补充剂。

据介绍，短链脂肪酸是由肠道细菌从不可消化的膳食纤维中加工得到的，具有免疫调节特性。

附：英文原文

Title: Propionic Acid Shapes the Multiple Sclerosis Disease Course by an Immunomodulatory Mechanism

Author: Alexander Duscha, Barbara Gisevius, Sarah Hirschberg, Nissan Yissachar, Gabriele I. Stangl, Eva Eilers, Verian Bader, Stefanie Haase, Johannes Kaisler, Christina David, Ruth Schneider, Riccardo Troisi, Daniel Zent, Tobias Hegelmaier, Nikolaos Dokalis, Sara Gerstein, Sara Del Mare-Roumani, Sivan Amidror, Ori Staszewski, Gereon Poschmann, Kai Stühler, Frank Hirche, Andras Balogh, Stefan Kempa, Pascal Trger, Mario M. Zaiss, Jacob Bak Holm, Megan G. Massa, Henrik Bjrn Nielsen, Andreas Faissner, Carsten Lukas, Sren G. Gatermann, Markus Scholz, Horst Przuntek, Marco Prinz, Sofia K. Forslund, Konstanze F. Winklhofer, Dominik N. Müller, Ralf A. Linker, Ralf Gold, Aiden Haghikia

Issue&Volume: 2020-03-10

Abstract: Short-chain fatty acids are processed from indigestible dietary fibers by gut bacteriaand have immunomodulatory properties. Here, we investigate propionic acid (PA) inmultiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease. Serum and fecesof subjects with MS exhibited significantly reduced PA amounts compared with controls,particularly after the first relapse. In a proof-of-concept study, we supplementedPA to therapy-naive MS patients and as an add-on to MS immunotherapy. After 2 weeksof PA intake, we observed a significant and sustained increase of functionally competentregulatory T (Treg) cells, whereas Th1 and Th17 cells decreased significantly. Post-hocanalyses revealed a reduced annual relapse rate, disability stabilization, and reducedbrain atrophy after 3 years of PA intake. Functional microbiome analysis revealedincreased expression of Treg-cell-inducing genes in the intestine after PA intake.Furthermore, PA normalized Treg cell mitochondrial function and morphology in MS.Our findings suggest that PA can serve as a potent immunomodulatory supplement to MS drugs.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.02.035

Source: https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)30212-9