Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection, and its impact on gut microbiome of individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
There is a growing literature suggesting the role of gut microbiome in the aetiology of Multiple sclerosis (MS) with the development of disease being a multifactorial interaction of gut, brain, and the immune system. Whilst gut microbiology is a well-explored topic in MS in the context of healthy controls, there are hardly any studies that link microbiome of MS to Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection. Therefore, in this study, we further characterize the MS patients as MAP positive and negative, to unravel the factors (i.e., psycho-social, dietary and lifestyle) influencing their microbiota, and to gain a mechanistic understanding of their ecology. The methods involve 16S rRNA profiling of faecal samples of individuals from Sardinia, Italy, divided into three categories, Healthy Controls (HC) (n=24), MS MAP+ (n=27), and MS MAP- (n=18), were collected, for two time points, T1, and T2, a month apart.