Microbiome-derived metabolites from vitamin B2 and B9 pathways modulate MAIT cells from multiple sclerosis patients

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells recognize microbial vitamin B2 and B9 metabolites via MR1 and have been implicated in multiple sclerosis (MS). How patient-specific gut microbiota shape human MAIT-cell pathogenicity at the clonal level remains unknown.

We generated 62 MAIT-cell clones from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and 50 from healthy controls (HCs). Clones were stimulated with riboflavin- or folate-pathway metabolites, paraformaldehyde-fixed patient-matched gut bacterial isolates, or interleukin (IL)-12/IL-18. Activation markers, cytokine secretion, cytotoxicity, and competitive MR1-ligand inhibition were assessed. Intestinal permeability was evaluated using I-FABP, LBP, GLP-2, and fecal α-1-antitrypsin.

MS-derived MAIT clones showed markedly enhanced activation, increased interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), IL-17, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) secretion, and greater cytotoxicity compared with HCs when stimulated with riboflavin-producing taxa isolated from the same patients. Importantly, several responses diverged from predictions based on murine models and genomic inference, including mixed cytokine profiles and graded competitive inhibition by folate-derived ligands. These findings highlight species-specific differences in MR1 ligand handling and MAIT-cell activation. Activation required uptake of intact bacteria and acid-dependent MR1 loading. MS patients exhibited significant intestinal barrier dysfunction, linking dysbiosis to systemic MAIT-cell hyperactivation.

At clonal resolution, this study demonstrates that patient-specific microbial metabolism, MR1-ligand competition, and epithelial barrier disruption cooperate to amplify MAIT-cell pathogenicity in MS, revealing human-specific mechanisms not predicted by animal models.