Abstract：Objective To investigate the composition of gut microbiota and its correlation with the severity of behavior symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods A total of 30 children with ASD were enrolled as the ASD group, and 20 healthy children matched for age and sex were enrolled as the healthy control group. Related clinical data were analyzed. The V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene in fecal samples were sequenced. The severity of behavior symptoms in children with ASD was assessed using the autism behavior checklist. The Spearman's correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between gut microbiota and the severity of behavior symptoms in children with ASD. Results There was a significant difference in the composition of gut microbiota between the two groups. Compared with the healthy control group, the ASD group had significant reductions in Shannon index and Shannoneven index (P < 0.05), as well as a significant reduction in the percentage of Firmicutes and a significant increase in the percentage of Acidobacteria in feces (P < 0.05). In the ASD group, the dominant bacteria were Megamonas, Megasphaera, and Barnesiella, while in the healthy control group, the dominant bacteria were Eubacterium_rectale_group, Ezakiella, and Streptococcus. In the children with ASD, the abundance of Megamonas was positively correlated with the scores of health/physical/behavior and language communication (P < 0.05). Conclusions The development of ASD and the severity of behavior symptoms are closely associated with the composition of gut microbiota.
HAO Rui-Hao,ZHENG Peng-Yuan,LIU Si-Meng et al. Correlation between gut microbiota and behavior symptoms in children with autism spectrum disorder[J]. CJCP, 2019, 21(7): 663-669.
Lai MC, Lombardo MV, Baron-Cohen S. Autism[J]. Lancet, 2014, 383(9920):896-910.
[2]
Fombonne E. Epidemiology of pervasive developmental disorders[J]. Pediatr Res, 2009, 65(6):591-598.
[3]
Baio J, Wiggins L, Christensen DL, et al. Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among children aged 8 years-Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2014[J]. MMWR Surveill Summ, 2018, 67(6):1-23.
[4]
Hadjkacem I, Ayadi H, Turki M, et al. Prenatal, perinatal and postnatal factors associated with autism spectrum disorder[J]. J Pediatr (Rio J), 2016, 92(6):595-601.
[5]
Maynard CL, Elson CO, Hatton RD, et al. Reciprocal interactions of the intestinal microbiota and immune system[J]. Nature, 2012, 489(7415):231-241.
[6]
de la Cochetiere MF, Piloquet H, des Robert C, et al. Early intestinal bacterial colonization and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants:the putative role of Clostridium[J]. Pediatr Res, 2004, 56(3):366-370.
[7]
Kelly JR, Minuto C, Cryan JF, et al. Cross talk:the microbiota and neurodevelopmental disorders[J]. Front Neurosci, 2017, 11:490.
[8]
Kamp-Becker I, Albertowski K, Becker J, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of the ADOS and ADOS-2 in clinical practice[J]. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry, 2018, 27(9):1193-1207.
[9]
Fitzgerald M. The clinical utility of the ADI-R and ADOS in diagnosing autism[J]. Br J Psychiatry, 2017, 211(2):117.
Slattery J, MacFabe DF, Frye RE. The significance of the enteric microbiome on the development of childhood disease:a review of prebiotic and probiotic therapies in disorders of childhood[J]. Clin Med Insights Pediatr, 2016, 10:91-107.
[13]
Sekirov I, Russell SL, Antunes LC, et al. Gut microbiota in health and disease[J]. Physiol Rev, 2010, 90(3):859-904.
[14]
Hesla HM, Stenius F, Jaderlund L, et al. Impact of lifestyle on the gut microbiota of healthy infants and their mothers -the ALADDIN birth cohort[J]. FEMS Microbiol Ecol, 2014, 90(3):791-801.
[15]
Rigsbee L, Agans R, Shankar V, et al. Quantitative profiling of gut microbiota of children with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome[J]. Am J Gastroenterol, 2012, 107(11):1740-1751.
[16]
Human Microbiome Project Consortium. Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome[J]. Nature, 2012, 486(7402):207-214.
[17]
Barcenilla A, Pryde SE, Martin JC, et al. Phylogenetic relationships of butyrate-producing bacteria from the human gut[J]. Appl Environ Microbiol, 2000, 66(4):1654-1661.
[18]
Estaki M, Pither J, Baumeister P, et al. Cardiorespiratory fitness as a predictor of intestinal microbial diversity and distinct metagenomic functions[J]. Microbiome, 2016, 4(1):42.
[19]
Wang HB, Wang PY, Wang X, et al. Butyrate enhances intestinal epithelial barrier function via up-regulation of tight junction protein Claudin-1 transcription[J]. Dig Dis Sci, 2012, 57(12):3126-3135.
[20]
Sherry CL, Kim SS, Dilger RN, et al. Sickness behavior induced by endotoxin can be mitigated by the dietary soluble fiber, pectin, through up-regulation of IL-4 and Th2 polarization[J]. Brain Behav Immun, 2010, 24(4):631-640.
[21]
Adams JB, Johansen LJ, Powell LD, et al. Gastrointestinal flora and gastrointestinal status in children with autism -comparisons to typical children and correlation with autism severity[J]. BMC Gastroenterol, 2011, 11:22.
[22]
Huang H, Liu JQ, Yu Y, et al. Regulation of TWIK-related potassium channel-1(Trek1) restitutes intestinal epithelial barrier function[J]. Cell Mol Immunol, 2016, 13(1):110-118.
[23]
Rose S, Bennuri SC, Davis JE, et al. Butyrate enhances mitochondrial function during oxidative stress in cell lines from boys with autism[J]. Transl Psychiatry, 2018, 8(1):42.
[24]
Kratsman N, Getselter D, Elliott E. Sodium butyrate attenuates social behavior deficits and modifies the transcription of inhibitory/excitatory genes in the frontal cortex of an autism model[J]. Neuropharmacology, 2016, 102:136-145.
[25]
Geng H, Shu S, Dong J, et al. Association study of gut flora in Wilson's disease through high-throughput sequencing[J]. Medicine (Baltimore), 2018, 97(31):e11743.
[26]
Kieler IN, Shamzir Kamal S, Vitger AD, et al. Gut microbiota composition may relate to weight loss rate in obese pet dogs[J]. Vet Med Sci, 2017, 3(4):252-262.
