Prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis through traditional Chinese medicine: role of the gut microbiota

Yujiao Liang; Mengyao Liu; Yingxue Cheng; Xinchang Wang; Weijie Wang

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1233994

Prevention and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis through traditional Chinese medicine: role of the gut microbiota

Front Immunol. 2023 Sep 14:14:1233994. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1233994. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yujiao Liang¹, Mengyao Liu¹, Yingxue Cheng², Xinchang Wang³, Weijie Wang^{3

4}

Affiliations

¹ The Second Clinical Medical College, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
² School of Basic Medical Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
³ Department of Rheumatology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
⁴ Institute of Basic Theory for Chinese Medicine, China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Recently, despite the increasing availability of treatments for Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the incidence of RA and associated disability-adjusted life years have been on the rise globally in the late decades. At present, accumulating evidence has been advanced that RA is related to the gut microbiota, therefore, the therapeutic approaches for RA by regulating the gut microbiota are anticipated to become a new means of treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) can regulate immunity, reduce inflammation and improve quality of life in various ways. Moreover, it can treat diseases by affecting the gut microbiota, which is a good way to treat RA. In this review, we mainly explore the relationship between TCM and gut microbiota regarding the perspective of treating RA. Moreover, we comprehensively summarize the roles of gut microbiota in the onset, development, progression, and prognosis of RA. Additionally, we elucidate the mechanism of TCM prevention and treatment of RA by the role of microbiota. Finally, we provide an evidence-based rationale for further investigation of microbiota-targeted intervention by TCM.

Keywords: Gut Microbiota; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Traditional Chinese Medicine; immunology; rheumatic and immune disease.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Arthritis, Rheumatoid* / drug therapy
Gastrointestinal Microbiome*
Humans
Inflammation
Medicine, Chinese Traditional
Quality of Life

Grants and funding

The authors declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO.82004238); Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province (NO. LBY21H270001), Zhejiang Medicine and Health Science and Technology Project (NO. 2021KY843) and Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CACM (NO. CACM2021-QNRC2-B01).