Grant: Project Grant

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain and is often accompanied by fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive dysfunction. Approximately 2-4% of the population worldwide suffers from fibromyalgia, with the vast majority of diagnosed cases in females. The causes and the underlying mechanisms of fibromyalgia are unknown and consequently, no targeted treatment is available. The human microbiota is composed of various microorganisms (e.g., bacteria) that reside on our body. The gut microbiota has been suggested to play a critical role in various health conditions, such as cardiovascular and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as distinct pain conditions, including neuropathic pain and opioid tolerance Out team recently showed that the composition of the gut microbiota is altered in fibromyalgia patients and demonstrated that the abundance of several bacterial species is correlated with clinical symptoms of the syndrome. In this project, we will test the hypothesis that alterations in the gut microbiota in fibromyalgia cause pain and investigate the underlying mechanisms. We will test this hypothesis by transplanting the gut microbiota from fibromyalgia patients to mice lacking gut bacteria and determine whether this induces pain and other fibromyalgia phenotypes. We will then investigate the role of specific bacteria and how they modulate the immune system and the activity of peripheral and central pain circuits that control pain transmission. In summary, our study has the potential to decipher the causal role of the altered gut microbiota in fibromyalgia and might facilitate the development of a novel microbiota-based therapeutic strategy to alleviate suffering of individuals affected by this debilitating chronic pain condition.