Myelin reactive T cells that have a receptors that target myelin have all they need to cause autoimmunity, all that is needed is for the cells to be activated to get into the CNS and cause disease. Here bacteriua in the smal, intesting of a twin with MS triggered disease and the bacteria from non MS twins didnt
Champagne-Jorgensen K, Gommerman JL. Two of a kind, one with MS: Gut microbes tip the balance. Sci Immunol. 2025;10(113):eaed4910
The team then used transgenic mice, in which myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)–specific T cells spontaneously trigger relapsingexperimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a model of MS. Germ-free (GF) mice are protected from disease but regain susceptibility when colonized with complex microbiota. Across multiple experiments, colonization of GF mice with gut microbes from the MS twin consistently triggered spontaneous EAE in most recipients, whereas microbiota from the healthy twin rarely triggered EAE. Affected mice developed demyelinating CNS lesions and intestinal lymphocytic infiltration, often accompanied by expansion of Lachnoclostridium or Eisenbergiella, both members of the Lachnospiraceae family.
Overall, this study….identifies Lachnospiraceae as candidate drivers of demyelinating autoimmune disease. Although strain-level validation is still needed, this study demonstrates the power of integrating human cohorts with gnotobiotic models to reveal microbial mechanisms of CNS autoimmunity and guide the development of microbiome-targeted interventions in MS.
H. Yoon, L. A. Gerdes, F. Beigel, Y. Sun, J. Kövilein, J. Wang, T. Kuhlmann, A. Flierl-Hecht, D. Haller, R. Hohlfeld, S. E. Baranzini, H. Wekerle, A. Peters, Multiple sclerosis and gut microbiota: Lachnospiraceae from the ileum of MS twins trigger MS-like disease in germfree transgenic mice—An unbiased functional study. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122, e2419689122 (2025).
However when you look only 3/9 mice with transplant got disease compared to 8/85 controls…they did a T test, which in my opinion is the wrong statistical analysis. The chi-square statistic The p-value is .033754. Significant at p < .05. but with Yates correction as the sample size is small the p-value is .114624. Not significant at p < .05. (The Fisher exact test statistic value is 0.0684. The result is not significant at p < .05). However if you exclude the males the frequency is 3/5 verses 0/4 males. Make of this as you will. The it was 5/8 (all driven by females) from afftected twin comapred to 0/8 for unaffected twin (P<0.05). They say Lachnoclostridium,induces EAE whilst Akkermansia (found in many microbiome studies do not). So something within these bacteria can trigger MS…In the initial studies done thirty-forty years ago transgenic animals prone to EAE got EAE if given the toxin from whooping cough…I don’t think there is a belief that MS is caused by whooping cough but proof will be in the pudding get rid of these bacteria and will MS.
COI: None important
Disclaimer my views alone
Source: multiple-sclerosis-research.org