{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:28:35Z","timestamp":1792787315075,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,18]],"date-time":"2024-11-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1731888000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":17,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Joint Program Initiative"},{"name":"EU","award":["HORIZON 2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HORIZON 2020"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015694","name":"Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015694","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"ERA"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["RMD Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,23]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2024,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In systemic sclerosis (SSc), gastrointestinal involvement is one of the earliest events. We compared the gut microbiota (GM), its short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and host-derived free fatty acids (FFAs) in patients with very early diagnosis of SSc (VEDOSS) and definite SSc.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Stool samples of 26 patients with SSc, 18 patients with VEDOSS and 20 healthy controls (HC) were collected. The GM was assessed through 16S rRNA sequencing, while SCFAs and FFAs were assessed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In patients with VEDOSS, an increase in Bacteroidales and Oscillospirales orders and a decrease in Bacilli class,\n                      <jats:italic>Blautia, Romboutsia, Streptococcus<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>Turicibacter<\/jats:italic>\n                      genera was detected in comparison with HC. In patients with SSc, an elevated number of Acidaminococcaceae and Sutterellaceae families, along with a decrease of the Peptostreptococcaceae family and\n                      <jats:italic>Anaerostipes, Blautia, Romboutsia<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>Turicibacter<\/jats:italic>\n                      genera was found in comparison with HC. Patients with SSc and VEDOSS had a significantly lower butyrate and higher acetate with respect to HC. In VEDOSS, an increase in Oscillospiraceae family and\n                      <jats:italic>Anaerostipes<\/jats:italic>\n                      genus, and a decrease in\n                      <jats:italic>Alphaproteobacteria<\/jats:italic>\n                      class, and Lactobacillales order was identified with respect to SSc. Moreover, patients with VEDOSS exhibited higher acetate and lower valerate compared with definite SSc.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A GM dysbiosis with depletion of beneficial anti-inflammatory bacteria (especially butyrate-producing) and a significant decrease in faecal butyrate was identified in patients with VEDOSS. This early GM imbalance may foster the growth of inflammatory microbes, worsening intestinal dysbiosis and inflammation in early SSc stages. The potential butyrate administration in early disease phases might be considered as a novel therapeutic approach to mitigate gastrointestinal discomfort and progression preserving patient\u2019s quality of life.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/rmdopen-2024-004647","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,18]],"date-time":"2024-11-18T12:45:39Z","timestamp":1731933939000},"page":"e004647","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":22,"title":["Gut microbiota in very early systemic sclerosis: the first case-control taxonomic and functional characterisation highlighting an altered butyric acid profile"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5926-6263","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Bellando-Randone","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Division of 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Italy"},{"name":"Scleroderma Unit, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi (AOUC), Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Simone","family":"Baldi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bianca Saveria","family":"Fioretto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Anatomy and Histology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eloisa","family":"Romano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Section of Internal Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, 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