From the Department of Psychiatry (Hemmings, Malan-Müller, van den Heuvel, Seedat), Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, South Africa; Departments of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology (Demmitt, Krauter), Chemistry and Biochemistry (Smith), and Integrative Physiology (Bohr, Stamper, Siebler, McQueen, Lowry), Institute for Behavioral Genetics (Demmitt, Bohr, McQueen, Krauter), and Center for Neuroscience (Lowry), University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder; Departments of Epidemiology (Stanislawski), Psychiatry and Neurology (Brenner), and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Brenner, Lowry), and Center for Neuroscience (Lowry), University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora; US Department of Veterans Affairs (Stanislawski), Denver, CO; Departments of Pediatrics (Hyde, Marotz, Knight) and Computer Science & Engineering (Morton, Knight), and Center for Microbiome Innovation (Knight), University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA; NXT-Dx (Braspenning); Department of Mathematical Modelling (Van Criekinge), Statistics and Bio-informatics, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Hoisington), United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs; Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE) (Hoisington, Brenner, Postolache, Lowry); VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC) (Brenner, Postolache, Lowry), Denver, CO; and Department of Psychiatry (Postolache), School of Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD.
Psychosom Med. 2017 Oct;79(8):936-946. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000512.
Inadequate immunoregulation and elevated inflammation may be risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and microbial inputs are important determinants of immunoregulation; however, the association between the gut microbiota and PTSD is unknown. This study investigated the gut microbiome in a South African sample of PTSD-affected individuals and trauma-exposed (TE) controls to identify potential differences in microbial diversity or microbial community structure.
The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 was used to diagnose PTSD according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition criteria. Microbial DNA was extracted from stool samples obtained from 18 individuals with PTSD and 12 TE control participants. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA gene V3/V4 amplicons were generated and sequenced. Microbial community structure, α-diversity, and β-diversity were analyzed; random forest analysis was used to identify associations between bacterial taxa and PTSD.
There were no differences between PTSD and TE control groups in α- or β-diversity measures (e.g., α-diversity: Shannon index, t = 0.386, p = .70; β-diversity, on the basis of analysis of similarities: Bray-Curtis test statistic = -0.033, p = .70); however, random forest analysis highlighted three phyla as important to distinguish PTSD status: Actinobacteria, Lentisphaerae, and Verrucomicrobia. Decreased total abundance of these taxa was associated with higher Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale scores (r = -0.387, p = .035).
In this exploratory study, measures of overall microbial diversity were similar among individuals with PTSD and TE controls; however, decreased total abundance of Actinobacteria, Lentisphaerae, and Verrucomicrobia was associated with PTSD status.
免疫调节不足和炎症升高可能是创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）的危险因素，而微生物的输入是免疫调节的重要决定因素；然而，肠道微生物群与 PTSD 之间的关联尚不清楚。本研究调查了南非 PTSD 患者和创伤暴露（TE）对照个体的肠道微生物组，以确定微生物多样性或微生物群落结构是否存在潜在差异。
根据《精神障碍诊断与统计手册》第五版（DSM-5）的标准，使用临床医生管理的 PTSD 量表来诊断 PTSD。从 18 名 PTSD 患者和 12 名 TE 对照参与者的粪便样本中提取微生物 DNA。生成和测序细菌 16S 核糖体 RNA 基因 V3/V4 扩增子。分析微生物群落结构、α多样性和β多样性；使用随机森林分析来识别细菌分类群与 PTSD 之间的关联。
在α或β多样性测量方面（例如，α多样性：Shannon 指数，t = 0.386，p =.70；β多样性，基于相似性分析：Bray-Curtis 检验统计量 = -0.033，p =.70），PTSD 组和 TE 对照组之间没有差异；然而，随机森林分析突出了三个门对区分 PTSD 状态很重要：放线菌门、 Lentisphaerae 门和 Verrucomicrobia 门。这些类群的总丰度降低与更高的临床医生管理的 PTSD 量表评分相关（r = -0.387，p =.035）。
在这项探索性研究中，PTSD 患者和 TE 对照组的总体微生物多样性测量相似；然而，放线菌门、 Lentisphaerae 门和 Verrucomicrobia 门的总丰度降低与 PTSD 状态相关。
