[The spectrum and level of low-weight molecular compounds of microbial origin in familial Mediterranean fever].

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a disease whose etiopathogenesis is not clarified yet. The infectious theory of FMF has not been confirmed either. Nevertheless, the involvement of microbes in the trigger of an inflammatory process cannot be excluded since today's well-known pathogenetic processes in FMF are to be directly related to the key cells of an inflammatory response. According to the existing concept, homeostasis of small molecules originating from microbes (SMOM) in healthy individuals is achieved due to adequate immune system function with the preserved biocenosis of a macroorganism whose disturbance with resultant immune shifts triggers a cascade of inflammatory reactions in the body. An attempt was taken to reveal the participation of microorganisms at the onset of an inflammation in case of FMF by using chromatographic mass spectrometry to detect chemical components of microorganisms and their vital activity products. The method allows one to screen a large number of microbial markers in a clinical sample. Pronounced impairments in the homeostasis of non-protein SMOM were found in the blood of examined patients with FMF (n = 16). There was a uniformity of deviations from the normal values in all the examinees in the episodes and episode-free periods. These qualitative and quantitative deviations basically differ from the direction of changes with other diseases (n 59) or healthy individuals (n = 18). All significant deviations affect non-traditional participants of an inflammatory process in the host. The similar microecological breakages in the human body and their consequences have not been earlier detected and investigated. The findings show it necessary to continue studies to receive an answer to the question as to whether the detected homeostatic features of SMOM in patients with FMF are primary or what is their role in the etiopathogenesis.