T cells heal bone fractures with help from the gut microbiome

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Abstract

Immune cells play an important functional role in bone fracture healing. Fracture repair is a well-choreographed process that takes approximately 21 days in healthy mice. While the process is complex, conceptually it can be divided into four overlapping stages: inflammation, cartilaginous callus formation, bony callus formation, and remodeling. T cells play a key role in both the cartilaginous and bony callus phases by producing IL-17A. In this issue of the JCI, Dar et al. showed that T cells were recruited from the gut, where the gut microbiota determined the pool of T cells that expressed IL-17A. Treatment with antibiotics and dysbiosis reduced the expansion of IL-17–expressing CD4+ T cells (Th17) and impaired callus formation. These findings demonstrate crosstalk among the gut microbiota, the adaptive immune system, and bone that has clinical implications for fracture healing.

Authors

Rajeev Aurora, Matthew J. Silva