Nutritional and ecological perspectives of the interrelationships between diet and the gut microbiome in multiple sclerosis: Insights from marmosets
Maria Elisa Perez-Muñoz,
Scott Sugden,
Hermie J.M. Harmsen,
Bert A. ‘t Hart,
Jon D. Laman,
Jens Walter
Affiliations
Maria Elisa Perez-Muñoz
Department of Agricultural, Nutritional and Food Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada
Scott Sugden
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada
Hermie J.M. Harmsen
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9700AE, The Netherlands
Bert A. ‘t Hart
Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, Section of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen 9700AE, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department Anatomy and Neuroscience, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam 1081HV, The Netherlands
Jon D. Laman
Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, Section of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen 9700AE, Groningen, The Netherlands; Department of Pathology and Medical Biology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen 9700AE, The Netherlands; Corresponding author
Jens Walter
Department of Agricultural, Nutritional and Food Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P5, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9, Canada; APC Microbiome Ireland, School of Microbiology, and Department of Medicine, University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork T12 YT20, Ireland; Corresponding author
Summary: Studies in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the animal model of multiple sclerosis, have shown potential links between diet components, microbiome composition, and modulation of immune responses. In this review, we reanalyze and discuss findings in an outbred marmoset EAE model in which a yogurt-based dietary supplement decreased disease frequency and severity. We show that although diet has detectable effects on the fecal microbiome, microbiome changes are more strongly associated with the EAE development. Using an ecological framework, we further show that the dominant factors influencing the gut microbiota were marmoset sibling pair and experimental time point. These findings emphasize challenges in assigning cause-and-effect relationships in studies of diet-microbiome-host interactions and differentiating the diet effects from other environmental, stochastic, and host-related factors. We advocate for animal experiments to be designed to allow causal inferences of the microbiota's role in pathology while considering the complex ecological processes that shape microbial communities.
