IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis: This study aimed to investigate: (1) the differential expression of gut microbiota in RA patients compared with healthy controls (HC); (2) the associations of gut microbiota with inflammatory parameters including disease activity and serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-17A; and (3) the associations of gut microbiota with the positivity of rheumatoid factor (RF) or anti-citrullinated peptides antibodies (ACPA), which is related to disease severity of RA [18,19].