Transition from an autoimmune-prone state to fatal autoimmune disease in CCR7 and RORγt double-deficient mice is dependent on gut microbiota

•Juvenile Ccr7−/−Rorγt−/− (DKO) mice develop acute and lethal mucosal inflammation.•RORγt-deficiency is the dominant mutation to cause profoundly impaired thymopoiesis.•Activated peripheral T cells, enhanced autoantibody titers and altered gut microbiota in Rorγt−/− mice.•Commensal bacteria are crucial to initiate lethal pathophysiology in DKO mice.

Autoimmunity is associated with a strong genetic component, but onset and persistence of clinically apparent autoimmune diseases often require an additional environmental trigger. The balance between immunity and tolerance is regulated by numerous molecular factors including nuclear hormone and homeostatic chemokine receptors. The nuclear hormone receptor RORγt and the chemokine receptor CCR7 are both essentially involved in functional lymphoid organogenesis and maintenance of lymphocyte homeostasis. Lack of one or the other impairs thymic T cell development and alters T cell homeostasis. Mice deficient for both, Ccr7−/−Rorγt−/−, succumbed early to acute destructive inflammation, characterized by massive recruitment of inflammatory leukocytes, pro-inflammatory cytokine and autoantibody production, and wasting disease. Antibiotic-treatment of mice before disease onset reduced the overall gut microflora and abrogated the development of fatal mucosal inflammation. Hence, commensal bacteria and a confined tissue-specific inflammatory milieu serve as complementary trigger to initiate the lethal pathophysiologic process in Ccr7−/−Rorγt−/− mice.