Consequences of collagen induced inflammatory arthritis on circadian regulation of the gut microbiome

The gut microbiota is important for host health and immune system function. Moreover autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are associated with significant gut microbiota dysbiosis, although the causes and consequences of this are not fully understood. It has become clear that the composition and metabolic outputs of the microbiome exhibit robust 24h oscillations, a result of daily variation in timing of food intake as well as rhythmic circadian clock function in the gut. Here, we report that experimental inflammatory arthritis leads to a re-organisation of circadian rhythmicity in both the gut and associated microbiome. Mice with collagen induced arthritis exhibited extensive changes in rhythmic gene expression in the colon, and reduced barrier integrity. Re-modelling of the host gut circadian transcriptome was accompanied by significant alteration of the microbiota, including widespread loss of rhythmicity in symbiont species of Lactobacillus, and alteration in circulating microbial derived factors, such as tryptophan metabolites, which are associated with maintenance of barrier function and immune cell populations within the gut. These findings highlight that altered circadian rhythmicity during inflammatory disease contributes to dysregulation of gut integrity and microbiome function.