Oral Metagenomic Biomarkers in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Summary

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic and potentially severe autoimmune disease affecting 2 million in the United States. The role of environmental factors in modulating autoimmunity pathogenesis has been clearly described and yet the specific mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. A growing body of evidence implicates microbiota of mucosal surfaces in the development of autoimmune disorders. Various studies have clearly linked RA to periodontal disease. The latter is linked to the red-complex that includes the oral bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. And yet there has not been a systematic analysis of the oral microbiota in RA to determine whether there are specific markers for P. gingivalis (and other oral bacteria) that are linked to RA.

In this study, the investigators will characterize oral microbial composition (microbiome) and gene content (metagenome) of DNA isolated from oral samples obtained from patients with (i) early stage RA prior to biologics treatments and (ii) subsets of RA patients who are responsive or unresponsive to anti-TNF-alpha therapy. The innovative aspect of this study is going beyond the identification of oral bacterial species, to the level of strains and genes that are associated with these groups. The overall hypothesis is that oral microbial variation exists between individuals that influences development of autoimmunity and autoimmune disease.

Conditions

• Rheumatoid Arthritis

Interventions

PROCEDURE

Dental Plaque

All participants will have dental plaque removed from different tooth surfaces for supragingival.

OTHER

Multi-dimensional health assessment questionnaire (MDHAQ)

The RA groups will receive the multi-dimensional health assessment questionnaire (MDHAQ) for physical function, pain, and global status.

OTHER

Saliva Collection

All participants will have a saliva collection.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• United States Department of Defense

  collaborator FED

• VA Medical Center-Gainesville

  collaborator FED

• University of Florida

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Michael R Bubb, MD · University of Florida

• Edward K Chan, Ph.D. · University of Florida

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2016-05-31

Primary Completion

2019-08-08

Completion

2019-08-08

Countries

• United States

Study Locations