Homeostatic balance of Gut-resident Tregs (GTregs) plays a pivotal role in maintaining bone health under post-menopausal osteoporotic conditions

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a skeletal condition characterized by the deterioration of bone tissue. The immune system plays a crucial role in maintaining bone homeostasis and combating the development of osteoporosis. Immunoporosis is the term used to describe the recent convergence of research on the immune system's role in osteoporosis. Gut harbors the largest component of the immune system and there is growing evidence that intestinal immunity plays a vital role in regulating bone health. Gut-resident regulatory T cells (GTregs) play an essential role in inhibiting immune responses and preventing various inflammatory manifestations. Our findings show that GTregs have a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of post-menopausal osteoporosis (PMO). We investigated the potential of GTregs in regulating the development of bone cells in vitro. We observed that GTregs significantly enhance osteoblastogenesis with concomitant inhibition of osteoclastogenesis in a cell-ratio-dependent manner. We further report that the deficiency of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in osteoporotic conditions substantially disrupts the composition of GTregs, leading to a loss of peripherally derived Tregs (pTregs) and an expansion of thymus-derived Tregs (tTregs). Moreover, the administration of probiotics Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Bifidobacterium longum modulated the GTregs compartment in an SCFA-dependent manner to mitigate inflammatory bone loss in PMO. Notably, SCFAs-primed GTregs were found to be significantly more effective in inhibiting osteoclastogenesis compared to unprimed GTregs. Altogether our results, for the first time, highlight the crucial role of GTregs in the pathophysiology of PMO, with potential clinical implications in the near future.