Tomova Aleksandra, Husarova Veronika, Lakatosova Silvia, Bakos Jan, Vlkova Barbora, Babinska Katarina, Ostatnikova Daniela
Institute of Physiology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Institute of Physiology, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
Physiol Behav. 2015 Jan;138:179-87. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.10.033. Epub 2014 Nov 6.
Development of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), including autism, is based on a combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors. Recent data propose the etiopathogenetic role of intestinal microflora in autism. The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in fecal microbiota in children with autism and determine its role in the development of often present gastrointestinal (GI) disorders and possibly other manifestations of autism in Slovakia. The fecal microflora of 10 children with autism, 9 siblings and 10 healthy children was investigated by real-time PCR. The fecal microbiota of autistic children showed a significant decrease of the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio and elevation of the amount of Lactobacillus spp. Our results also showed a trend in the incidence of elevated Desulfovibrio spp. in children with autism reaffirmed by a very strong association of the amount of Desulfovibrio spp. with the severity of autism in the Autism Diagnostic Interview (ADI) restricted/repetitive behavior subscale score. The participants in our study demonstrated strong positive correlation of autism severity with the severity of GI dysfunction. Probiotic diet supplementation normalized the Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes ratio, Desulfovibrio spp. and the amount of Bifidobacterium spp. in feces of autistic children. We did not find any correlation between plasma levels of oxytocin, testosterone, DHEA-S and fecal microbiota, which would suggest their combined influence on autism development. This pilot study suggests the role of gut microbiota in autism as a part of the "gut-brain" axis and it is a basis for further investigation of the combined effect of microbial, genetic, and hormonal changes for development and clinical manifestation of autism.
自闭症谱系障碍（ASD），包括自闭症，其发病是基于遗传易感性和环境因素的综合作用。近期数据表明肠道微生物群在自闭症的病因发病机制中发挥作用。本研究的目的是阐明斯洛伐克自闭症儿童粪便微生物群的变化，并确定其在常见胃肠道（GI）疾病以及自闭症其他可能表现的发展过程中的作用。通过实时聚合酶链反应对10名自闭症儿童、9名兄弟姐妹和10名健康儿童的粪便微生物群进行了调查。自闭症儿童的粪便微生物群显示拟杆菌门/厚壁菌门比例显著降低，乳酸杆菌属数量增加。我们的结果还显示，自闭症儿童中脱硫弧菌属数量升高的发生率有一定趋势，这在自闭症诊断访谈（ADI）受限/重复行为子量表评分中，脱硫弧菌属数量与自闭症严重程度的极强关联中得到了再次证实。我们研究中的参与者表现出自闭症严重程度与胃肠道功能障碍严重程度之间存在强正相关。益生菌饮食补充使自闭症儿童粪便中的拟杆菌门/厚壁菌门比例、脱硫弧菌属和双歧杆菌属数量恢复正常。我们未发现催产素、睾酮、硫酸脱氢表雄酮的血浆水平与粪便微生物群之间存在任何关联，这表明它们对自闭症发展没有综合影响。这项初步研究表明肠道微生物群在自闭症中作为“肠 - 脑”轴的一部分发挥作用，并且是进一步研究微生物、遗传和激素变化对自闭症发展和临床表现的综合作用的基础。
