Dietary Fatty Acids Directly Impact Central Nervous System Autoimmunity via the Small Intestine

Growing empirical evidence suggests that nutrition and bacterial metabolites might impact the systemic immune response in the context of disease and autoimmunity. We report that long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) enhanced differentiation and proliferation of T helper 1 (Th1) and/or Th17 cells and impaired their intestinal sequestration via p38-MAPK pathway. Alternatively, dietary short-chain FAs (SCFAs) expanded gut T regulatory (Treg) cells by suppression of the JNK1 and p38 pathway. We used experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) as a model of T cell-mediated autoimmunity to show that LCFAs consistently decreased SCFAs in the gut and exacerbated disease by expanding pathogenic Th1 and/or Th17 cell populations in the small intestine. Treatment with SCFAs ameliorated EAE and reduced axonal damage via long-lasting imprinting on lamina-propria-derived Treg cells. These data demonstrate a direct dietary impact on intestinal-specific, and subsequently central nervous system-specific, Th cell responses in autoimmunity, and thus might have therapeutic implications for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis. •Dietary fatty acids have profound influence on T cell differentiation in the gut•Middle- and long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) support Th1 and Th17 cell differentiation•Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) lead to increased Treg cell differentiation•LCFAs worsen disease in an animal model of MS; SCFAs exert the opposite effect Haghikia and colleagues show that dietary fatty acids (FAs) influence T cell differentiation in the gut, with short FAs leading to increased Treg cell differentiation and long FAs supporting Th1 and/or Th17 cell differentiation. These FAs differentially affect EAE severity, demonstrating a direct dietary impact on central nervous system autoimmunity.