Fecal Microbiota and Metabolome of Children with Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

By M. de Angelis, M. Piccolo, L. Vannini, S. Siragusa, Andrea de Giacomo, Diana Isabella Serrazzanetti, F. Cristofori, M. E. Guerzoni, M. Gobbetti, R. Francavilla. PLoS ONE, 2013

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This study aimed at investigating the fecal microbiota and metabolome of children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) and autism (AD) in comparison to healthy children (HC). Bacterial tag-encoded FLX-titanium amplicon pyrosequencing (bTEFAP) of the 16S rDNA and 16S rRNA analyses were carried out to determine total bacteria (16S rDNA) and metabolically active bacteria (16S rRNA), respectively. The main bacterial phyla (Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria and Verrucomicrobia) significantly (P<0.05) changed among the three groups of children. As estimated by rarefaction, Chao and Shannon diversity index, the highest microbial diversity was found in AD children. Based on 16S-rRNA and culture-dependent data, Faecalibacterium and Ruminococcus were present at the highest level in fecal samples of PDD-NOS and HC children. Caloramator, Sarcina and Clostridium genera were the highest in AD children. Compared to HC, the composition of Lachnospiraceae family also differed in PDD-NOS and, especially, AD children. Except for Eubacterium siraeum, the lowest level of Eubacteriaceae was found on fecal samples of AD children. The level of Bacteroidetes genera and some Alistipes and Akkermansia species were almost the highest in PDD-NOS or AD children as well as almost all the identified Sutterellaceae and Enterobacteriaceae were the highest in AD. Compared to HC children, Bifidobacterium species decreased in AD. As shown by Canonical Discriminant Analysis of Principal Coordinates, the levels of free amino acids and volatile organic compounds of fecal samples were markedly affected in PDD-NOS and, especially, AD children. If the gut microbiota differences among AD and PDD-NOS and HC children are one of the concomitant causes or the consequence of autism, they may have implications regarding specific diagnostic test, and/or for treatment and prevention.

Subfields: Molecular Biology, Pharmacy, Psychiatry and Mental health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f196625be12f5fe4c5625001dab6161366914fd3

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Citations in the corpus

Prebiotics: Definition, Types, Sources, Mechanisms, and Clinical Applications (2019, background): “For example, the amount of SCFAs in children with autism is lower than healthy ones [163,165].”
The Genus Alistipes: Gut Bacteria With Emerging Implications to Inflammation, Cancer, and Mental Health (2020, background): “However, another study done on a different form of autism, PDD-NOS, showed a significant abundance of Alistipes in children (54).”
Gut microbiota are related to Parkinson's disease and clinical phenotype (2015, background): “Decreased levels of Prevotella and increased abundance of Enterobacteriaceae in feces of autistic children support the relevance of these bacteria in CNS disorders.(61,62) Prevotella is a commensal microbe in the colon that not only can degrade a broad spectrum of plant polysaccharides and mucin gly”
Impacts of Gut Bacteria on Human Health and Diseases (2015, background): “[123] found Caloramator, Sarcina and Clostridium genera were higher in AD children compared with healthy children.”
The Central Nervous System and the Gut Microbiome (2016, background): “The gut microbiome of ASD patients have increased abundance and diversity of Clostridia species and a general increase in non-spore-forming anaerobes and microaerophilic bacteria compared to neurotypical controls (De Angelis et al., 2013; Finegold et al., 2002, 2010; Parracho et al., 2005).”
How informative is the mouse for human gut microbiota research? (2015, background): “…brain function, through neurohumoral communication (dubbed the gut-brain axis) have also been gaining attention in gastrointestinal disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, as well as in more unexpected pathologies, such as autism (De Angelis et al., 2013; Kang et al., 2013; Wang et al., 2013).”